John Culp
John Culp
convince decision management negotiate overall piece pilots proceed strategy toward whether
Whether or not to proceed down that path, that decision will be made by the representatives of the pilots and it's just another piece of an overall strategy we will use to convince management to negotiate toward a consensual agreement.
argue lawyers prepared
Our lawyers are prepared to argue that we have the right to strike.
airline delta earners employees executives firm law mostly paid pilots point pointing senior top
For Delta senior executives to point out that the top paid hourly employees at an airline are mostly pilots is like pointing out that the top earners in a law firm are mostly lawyers.
business close fairly high interest pilots reflects showing skepticism vote
It is a fairly close vote, and I would say that it is an uncommonly high turnout, showing the pilots' interest in this issue. And the close vote reflects the skepticism a lot of pilots have in management's business plan.
bang passengers
If you bang one on, your passengers automatically think you are Navy.
start talking
It's just the start of a new phase. There's nothing to preclude our talking up to and through the hearings.
bankruptcy closest concern high issue reflecting vote
This is the closest vote I can remember. It was an uncharacteristically high turnout reflecting concern about the issue and the bankruptcy process.
constant demands enjoy last management several taken turn worse
It's not something we enjoy doing but we feel management has taken a turn for the worse in the last several years. We're in constant negotiations, but their demands are egregious.
agreement goal management path satisfy seek work
It's always been the pilots' goal to work with management and to try and seek a consensual agreement that would try to satisfy the parties' needs. This is a path they have chosen; it's not a path we'd prefer.
absolutely anger deal great management state themselves vote
Not a clue. We know there's a great deal of anger out there with the way management has conducted themselves and the state of the business. We have absolutely no inkling how the vote will go.
benefit bluff defined money pension pocket trying
They were trying to pocket the money they weren't contributing to the defined benefit pension plan, and we called their bluff on it.
deal stop supporting
If they're going to stop supporting the plan, then contractually they have to deal with us.
business elements gives plan time
It's just temporary. It gives time for many elements of Delta's business plan to become clearer.
clearly committed interested management
We were interested and committed to bridging this gap. ... But management was clearly not committed to the process.