Delta Pilots Will Picket 2016 Shareholders Meeting

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Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots will picket at the carrier’s annual shareholders meeting in New York on June 10, the Air Line Pilots Association International reported Tuesday.

The union says it wants to “raise the sense of urgency in the ongoing negotiations.”

The Air Line Pilots Association International is currently in mediation with the airline over a new contract, and it argues the company has rebounded to big profits since its 2005 bankruptcy, when pilots took pay cuts and weathered pension losses. In the first quarter of 2016, Delta’s profit jumped 27 percent to $946 million, or $1.21 a share.

Five months have passed since the Delta pilots contract’s amendable date. Fifteen months of negotiations have passed and Delta pilots still wait for a new agreement, the union noted.

The union wants “negotiated contractual changes that recognize pilot sacrifices and contributions to Delta’s unprecedented [sic] success” and says it “sees no obstacles to achieving this goal by this summer.”

Delta Air Lines Inc. spokesman Morgan Durrant issued the following statement on behalf of the airline:

“Delta agrees that a tentative agreement can be reached this summer. Delta remains committed to reaching an industry-leading deal that is also sustainable and market-based. We believe that our pilots are the best in the industry and should continue to be the best paid.”

Source: bizjournals.com