Wednesday, March 28, 2001

I want to condemn Delta pilot Russell Switzer for his fine example of the ALPA mentality. He does not care if he shuts down 18 percent of the air traffic in the U.S., inconveniences hundreds of thousands of customers, or jeopardizes the livelihood of tens of thousands of airline/airport-related employees and their families, as long as he gets more for himself.

Let's start with sacrifices. What makes you think you are the only ones who make sacrifices, Mr. Switzer? Have you ever noticed who flies with you? There are businessmen and women who leave home on Sunday and return Friday almost every week on the year. They do this while sitting in seats with so little room they can hardly move. How often do they see their families? They know sacrifices far more than you, and so do their wives and children.

Your statement about "making an investment in Delta" in 1996 was the most absurd quote in the newspaper article. Every officer, director, employee in the company except the pilots took a 5 percent pay in cut in 1994. You and your ALPA brothers didn't invest one dime in the company's future during the most difficult of times. When several of your union members attempted to do their part by taking a 5 percent pay cut, ALPA sued them and forced them to withdraw their request.

How many of your passengers have also served their country in the military and risked their lives as soldiers without complaining? I guarantee that they were at far greater risk with a rifle in their hands than you ever were while jamming radar at 600 mph. They served their time and moved on without thinking they deserved special treatment.

What about the professional people who are on call 24 hours per day and work more in five days than you work in a month? And by the way, most doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc., usually have hundreds of thousands of dollars in school loans to pay back for their educations, which often take eight to 10 years to complete. I notice that your college education was subsidized by the taxpayers of Georgia who built and maintain Georgia Tech. I also notice that the flight skills you are so proud of were completely paid for with taxpayer dollars. I would be willing to bet that every hour in your flight log was paid for by taxpayers of the customers of Delta.

Salary. Be honest about what you make. Your base pay (which was grossly understated in the AJC) does not begin to reflect what you really make. Add your overtime pay. Add your expense money which you pocket after eating free meals while the aircraft is on autopilot. Add long layovers where you can take your wife along at no charge. Add medical benefits for your entire family. Add free life insurance and free disability insurance. Add vacation pay. Add the matching funds for your 401K account. Add the monthly hours you receive credit for without actually making the flight. Add all the pay you receive while on reserve even though in many cases you do not fly at all. Tell the AJC reporter what your W-2 gross pay was for the last year.

Next add the big one retirement pay beginning with a lump sum payment of more than $1 million at age 60, plus a monthly retirement check for the rest of your life, 100 percent of which is funded by Delta Air Lines with no contributions on your part. Most American workers fund their own retirements with 401K plans. And yet you poor babies still complain.

Mr. Switzer, I agree with you when you say, "We deserve to be fairly compensated." Fair would be 40 hours of actual flight time per week while paying your own expenses like many of us have to. Fair would be pay in line with other jobs at your airline. Fair would be a retirement program like most Americans contribute to. Perhaps you should campaign for a pay cut to allow for larger seats and more leg room on planes for those of us who pay your salary. Fair would be requiring you to pay for your flight training, schooling, type certification and other professional training. Fair would be holding you responsible for serving the people who pay to fly your airline.

Name withheld by request

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