Pilot seniority clash holds up merger

Northwest Airlines pilots risk losing pay raises of more than 30 percent included in a tentative labor agreement because Northwest and Delta Air Lines pilot negotiators are at a virtual standstill over integrating their seniority lists, a person close to the negotiations told the Star Tribune.

The standoff between the pilot groups is blocking the announcement of a Northwest-Delta merger.

"Now the deal is at risk," the news source with knowledge of the talks said. "It is at risk by a handful, just a couple of renegade Northwest Airlines pilots who are insisting on stapling thousands of Delta pilots at the bottom of the seniority list," the source said.

The dispute could "deny 12,000 pilots and their families and tens of thousands of other Northwest employees and Delta employees the choice to improve their economic future," the source added.

The seniority list determines which airplane a pilot flies and how much a pilot earns.

"There is no [merger] deal without a merged seniority list ahead of time," the source said.

Matt Coons, a spokesman for the Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, characterized those statements as false.

"It is interesting that this person who is supposedly so close to the negotiations is making statements that are absolutely not true," Coons said.

"This is a pressure tactic to try to get Northwest pilots to accept a seniority list that could adversely affect their entire careers," Coons said Wednesday.

The news source said that the Delta and Northwest pilots worked together constructively in recent weeks to negotiate a merged labor contract, which provides the 30 percent-plus pay raises for Northwest pilots over the four-year life of the contract. Compared with the existing contracts, there is an additional $2 billion in compensation in the proposed deal for the Northwest and Delta pilots, the news source said.

Delta pilots are now paid more, so their raises under the new labor agreement would be smaller.

Northwest pilots have two teams of negotiators, one for the labor contract that covers pay rates, benefits and work rules. The other has negotiated with Delta pilots on the seniority integration issue.

"They are the sole obstacle to a fair solution on the seniority integration," the person familiar with the talks said.

The Northwest ALPA executive council is scheduled to meet today and Friday to discuss the merger. Some members of that council are prepared to vote against the tentative labor agreement if the seniority integration issue remains unresolved.

"We want any seniority list integration to be fair to pilots at the top, middle and the bottom of the seniority list," Coons said. "Most of our economic and contractual issues have been favorably resolved and we are very enthusiastic about the growth that a consolidation could inspire."

The boards of Delta and Northwest were scheduled to meet Wednesday, but the carriers are not expected to announce a merger while the seniority issue remains unresolved.

Disputes over seniority plagued the Northwest and Republic Airlines merger more than 20 years ago and have hurt the US Airways and America West merger that took effect in 2005.

"A pilot's career is tied completely to his or her seniority ranking and a short-term economic benefit is not worth sacrificing the possibility of advancement over an entire career," Coons said.

Instead of merging seniority lists through a lengthy arbitration process, the Northwest and Delta pilots have tried to reach agreement within a period of weeks. But Northwest ALPA Chairman Dave Stevens told his members in a weekend memo that "we will not trade seniority for economic benefit."

Delta pilots also are represented by ALPA. Delta's pilot group is larger, about 7,000. The Northwest group has roughly 5,000 pilots.

About 3,000 Delta pilots would go to the bottom third of the merged seniority list if the Northwest delegation has its way, the news source said.

Delta CEO Richard Anderson, who would be the top executive of the merged carrier, is well acquainted with the dynamics of pilot labor negotiations. Because he also served as CEO of Northwest from 2001 to 2004, he's been exposed to the personalities and dynamics of both ALPA chapters.

It's unclear how long Anderson, Northwest CEO Doug Steenland and their boards will wait for ALPA leaders to resolve their conflicts or what management might do to try to break the logjam.

Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709