HEBRON — Delta Air Lines pilots took their case to the public Thursday, about 12 hours after both the pilots and the airline left their contract situation in the hands of federal mediators.

        About 50 pilots had an “informational picket” at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Thursday afternoon, holding signs that read “Passengers HATE being late. SO DO WE!” and “We are not on Strike. But the Clock is Ticking.”

Delta pilots walk an “informational” picket line Thursday at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        “This is to show that we are deadly serious about this,” said pilot spokesman Doug Wolff, a Boeing 757 captain from Anderson Township. “And while we don't want to take such an unfortunate and dramatic step as a strike, we are unified and ready to do so if we have to; and that's one of the reasons we're out here.”

        The National Mediation Board on Thursday was still considering a request by both sides to be released from the talks, to either enter binding arbitration or a countdown to a possible strike.

        Here's what could happen next:

        • The mediation board could say that negotiations are progressing, refuse to release the two sides and schedule further talks.

KEY POINTS

• Pay. Pilots think they made major pay and benefits concessions in their 1996 contract and are seeking to become the highest-paid pilots in the industry. They are also seeking higher pay for Delta Express pilots.     Delta says its last offer would have done that by immediately raising base pay between 7 and 17.5 percent and raising pilots' pay an average of 30 percent by the end of the three-year deal.     A senior Delta Boeing 737-300 captain flying a full schedule makes $166,788 annually, according to Air Inc., an Atlanta-based pilot placement company. A similar United Airlines pilot earns $183,972 a year under theindustry-leading contract signed in August 2000.     • Retirement. Delta has a company-funded pension plan. . Pilots have not given specifics on what they are demanding.     • Job security: Pilots are concerned about the expanding role of Delta's subsidiaries, known as the Delta Connection. That includes Cincinnati-based Comair. They want assurances that mainline pilots won't lose jobs to smaller jets.     Delta says its last offer would limit future purchases of regional jets to 50 seats (Comair has 20 70-seaters on order) and would limit the growth of Delta Connection airlines, although the airline did not give specifics.     • Duration. Delta's last offer was for a three-year deal. Pilots have not said what they are seeking.     • Retroactivity. Delta's last offer said retroactivity, or when the contract would date back to, would be open to negotiation. Although talks began early, the contract became officially open for negotiation in May 2000.     The pilots are seeking a retroactive date — which would mean when the pay increase would be effective — of September 1999, when talks began.

        • The board could issue a so-called “proffer of arbitration” and both sides could accept, meaning that an arbitrator would start drawing up a contract that both sides would be bound to sign.

        • The board could issue the proffer and one or both sides decline, meaning that a 30-day cooling off period would immediately start. At the end of that period, both sides could seek “self-help,” meaning the pilots legally could strike and the airline could impose its own work rules or lock out the pilots.

        Mediators late Thursday were still considering that joint request, board spokesman James Armshaw said. He would not comment on what the board was likely to do, or when it would make a decision.

        Delta is the nation's third-largest carrier and serves about 850,000 passengers a month locally, or about 57 percent of all local fliers.

        A strike would mean a complete shutdown of all Delta operations locally and nationwide, both sides have said.

        Hebron-based Comair, a wholly owned Delta subsidiary, is already in a countdown with its pilots, who are to vote on the airline's final offer this month.

        If no agreement is reached in the meantime, or if Comair's deal is voted down, that airline's pilots strike as soon as March 26.

        Delta's 9,700-member branch of the Air Line Pilots Association and the Atlanta-based airline asked in November for the 90-day mediation session, and both said they would request a proffer of arbitration Wednesday.

        That joint request came about 2 a.m. Thursday at the end of the final bargaining session scheduled for the two sides. No more talks had been scheduled as of Thursday. Negotiations began in September 1999.

        Delta passengers on Thursday seemed unfazed by the silent line of pilots, but Mia Bourdage of Appleton, Wis., said she planned “to look for other options if I need to return to Cincinnati.”

        Delta spokeswoman Cindi Kurczewski said the cooling-off period had not begun and that the airline was continuing with its full schedule, which was scaled back in December because of a lack of pilots willing to work overtime.

        “The talks are not over yet, and we are still confident of reaching an agreement,” Ms. Kurczewski said.

        Amy Diamond of Wyoming said that while she was also confident of a settlement, she would be checking other airlines for future flights.

        “I check other airlines for better prices before flying Delta anyway. ... But I will definitely check for flights on other carriers with the threat of a strike looming,” said Ms. Diamond, who was on her way to Seattle for vacation.

        Enquirer reporter Jim Hannah contributed to this report.
       

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