Jun 24, 2008 4:00 pm US/Central
Delta-NWA Pilot Negotiators Agree On Contract
ATLANTA (AP) ―
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Delta's pilots union says in a statement Tuesday that the agreement has been reached between the two pilot groups and Delta management.
CBS
Delta and Northwest pilot negotiators say they have a tentative agreement with Delta management on a joint contract to cover both pilot groups when the companies combine later this year.Delta's pilots union said in a statement Tuesday that the agreement is between the two pilot groups and Delta management. Terms were not disclosed.
Next the two pilot groups will try to reach an agreement on a merged seniority list.
The joint contract agreement, which covers roughly 12,000 pilots from both airlines, still needs rank-and-file approval and to be reviewed by the governing bodies of the two unions. Both unions' executive committees were scheduled to meet separately later this week.
Delta pilots already have their own deal with management, including pay raises and equity in the combined company. That move angered Northwest pilots, who felt left out by their fellow members of the Air Line Pilots Association, or ALPA.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. announced April 14 that it is acquiring Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines Corp. The stock-swap deal, if approved by shareholders and regulators, would create the world's largest airline.
Delta shares rose 26 cents, or 5.2 percent, to close at $5.26 on Tuesday, while Northwest shares rose 41 cents, or 7.4 percent, to close at $5.92.
Delta's pilots union called the tentative joint contract agreement "the first important step in the process of combining two pilot groups with long, proud histories, into the largest unified pilot group in the world."
It said in a statement that the a, while Northwest's front-line workforce is heavily unionized. Northwest's other unions will continue to represent those workers under their old contracts until votes by the combined workforce determine whether those unions stay or go.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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