Delta pilots to discuss wage cut proposal ATLANTA (AP) =97 Delta Air Lines' pilots agreed to discuss the airline's= wage=20 cut proposal, a move analysts say is the first step on a long road to=20 returning the struggling carrier to profitability. The decision was made=20 after three days of Air Line Pilots Association meetings wrapped up=20 Thursday night. A union memo released Friday did not say what its strategy= =20 will be during negotiations or what its position will be on the requested=20 concessions, and a spokesman did not return repeated phone calls seeking=20 comment. "A lot still has to be done," said Raymond Neidl, an analyst with= =20 Blaylock & Partners in New York. "The change is going to happen. The change= =20 is necessary. It's a question of how soon they can implement it." In April,= =20 Delta said it wanted to cut pilots' hourly wages by 22 percent, cancel pay= =20 raises due over the next year and reduce some benefits. Delta also wants to= =20 rescind a 4.5 percent raise its pilots received May 1 and a similar raise=20 due next May. A union finance committee has said it doesn't support the company's=20 proposal. Delta's pilots are some of the highest paid in the industry =97=20 some veterans make as much as $250,000 a year, analysts say. The=20 committee's stated position and speculation about the union's desire to get= =20 something in return for concessions =97 from better pension benefits to=20 promises of no large bonuses for executives =97 could spell trouble for a=20 quick resolution to negotiations, analysts say. "Hopefully it won't be=20 contentious," Neidl said. "But, history in the industry kind of indicates=20 it may turn out to be that way." In April, American Airlines won $1.8=20 billion in annual labor concessions from its employees after saying it=20 would have to file for bankruptcy without them. It hasn't come to that yet= =20 at Delta, but analysts say it may if the airline doesn't bring its cost=20 structure down. James Owers, a Georgia State University professor who specializes in=20 corporate restructuring, said the wage cuts are important for Delta if it=20 wants to avoid the same fate of rivals US Airways and United, which both=20 filed for bankruptcy. "It's crucial because they now have competitors on=20 all most all of their routes domestically with dramatically lower cost=20 structures," Owers said. ``Without concessions, Delta has a future that=20 would be distressingly similar to US Airways and United." Delta, which lost= =20 $1.3 billion last year and $466 million in the first quarter this year, has= =20 said it needs to cut costs to survive and has targeted pilots wages as part= =20 of that effort. Atlanta-based Delta, the nation's third-largest airline,=20 has reduced its work force by 16,000 since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist=20 attacks. It also has furloughed hundreds of pilots. On Friday, the Delta=20 pilots union said it will file a grievance next week protesting the=20 continued furlough of pilots, particularly ones who were were furloughed=20 because of the Iraq war. The grievance will assert that the continued=20 furlough of these pilots is no longer justified by the effects of the war=20 and other factors. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.carib-link.net/naparima/naps.html TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************