Happy New Year!
Today, I’m honored to begin my term as your MEC Chairman. Our most pressing priority is to support the Negotiating Committee (NC) as they finalize the Tentative Agreement (TA). The Negotiators and professional staff have spent countless hours drafting precise, detailed contractual language. Below, I will outline what will occur over the next several weeks and what you can expect to see from my team.
This TA will be presented to the MEC for its consideration within the coming weeks. My goal is to ensure this process is transparent. We will clearly communicate the required steps and ensure you receive complete, factual and timely information. The NC’s workload has been significant, with changes to nearly every section of the PWA. I appreciate your desire for more information and commit that you will have more details as soon as they are available. Thank you for your continued patience throughout this process.
After the MEC receives full TA language from the NC, it will be released to the membership. Should the MEC vote to send the TA for membership ratification, the next several weeks will be extremely busy, and your engagement in the ratification process will be critical. Anticipate comprehensive communications from your union to ensure you are equipped with the knowledge needed to make an informed decision when it comes time to cast your ballot. We will distribute detailed Negotiators’ Notepads, host a series of system-wide road shows, produce virtual town halls, publish a Pro/Con paper, and distribute Engage podcast episodes. Additionally, a webpage is being developed to provide a one-stop shop for TA information.
Looking forward, should the TA pass membership ratification, contract implementation and compliance will be the next highest priority. After any PWA changes are implemented, ALPA will continue to aggressively enforce the contract and hold management accountable for any violations. To that end, we are fortunate to have a strong committee structure of dedicated volunteers, as well as staff, who provide essential support to the pilot group. My goal is to continue the momentum by keeping the committee structure largely intact. A change in MEC leadership should not result in a wholesale change in the service your union provides and you have come to expect.
During my years of serving DTW Council 20, most recently as Captain Representative and Council Chairman, I am continually impressed by this pilot group’s talent and skills. I know there are untapped talents amongst our ranks. If you are interested in supplementing our current team of volunteers and subject matter experts, please reach out to your elected representatives. It’s also important to note that a significant portion of our seniority list has been hired since 2014, and Delta continues to hire. As these new Delta pilots hit the line, we must share our history and highlight the importance of unionism.
In closing, I am optimistic that we may finally realize the rewards we have earned through our substantial contributions to Delta’s success. Our solidarity continues to be our greatest strength.