Petition - HL 150 (4)

Click Here for the Urgent Petition Supporting our Retired Pilots

Over  1000 SIGNATURES IN 48 HRS. ADD YOURS!!!!!!!

Petition supporting Delta Retired Pilots and appealing for a remedy for our lost benefits.

SIGN THIS PETITION TODAY!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/627/208/216/the-inequitable-treatment-delta-retired-pilots-through-and-after-re-organization/

Petition Issues and considerations;

HOW DO I SIGN?  Some can’t find Sign in Box!

Mark:

How do you sign the petition?

Gary W. Winsett

gwinsett@srcaccess.net

 

 IMPORTANT SOME are having problems viewing the signing box for the Petition. Here is the issue. When the link comes from someone who has already signed it may look like another name has already signed it.   For multiple family members it is just plain easier if they log in from a different computer.

 

How can others in my family sign a petition on the same computer?

To preserve the integrity of the petition and to prevent inadvertent re-signs, we block multiple signatures from individual accounts. If more than one person is signing from a single computer, you may see a note that says "Oops! Hi John Doe! Our records indicate you have already signed this petition. If you are not John Doe , please click here to sign the petition." Click on that link, to enable another person sharing your computer to sign.

You may still see that message if the link you clicked to view the petition was forwarded to you by someone who copied the URL of the page after signing the petition. In this case, our database might think you have already signed. As noted above, just click the link to sign the petition.

 

Even if no one else uses your computer,

 

All signatures are collected at our petition site. Click http://www.thepetitionsite.com/627/208/216/the-inequitable-treatment-delta-retired-pilots-through-and-after-re-organization/

And sign the upper right hand box. Please enter your name and details which are completely safe. Please comment but keep all comments professional.

HOW DO I SHARE? We will not gain the desired support UNLESS you help us SHARE this message.

1. Get your family members to sign this

2. Secondly, at the site there are SHARE buttons and you can post this on Facebook or Twitter. You can also email this link. Copy and paste the link above and distribute to those who will support this cause.

Copy of letter by Jake Boyd used as a cover when he SHARES the petition:

Hi Mark,

Just wanted to let you know I am doing all I can to spread the word on
this petition. Below is my email that I am sending every possible
contact that I can dig out of my files. If you feel it is appropriate,
you may publish my letter as it may serve as a kind of guideline for
others that may wish to send out something similar.

Thanks kindly,
Jake Boyd L1011 retired 4-1-97
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Hello Everybody,

Most of you know me as a retired Delta Air Lines pilot. Retired 4-1-1997.Some of you are various business contacts.I have sent this email via BCC so your email addresses are protected.

I signed the petition *"Inequitable Treatment of Delta Retired Pilots During & Since Re-organization"*
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/627/208/216/the-inequitable-treatment-delta-retired-pilots-through-and-after-re-organization/.
I'm asking you to sign this petition to help us reach our goal of 5,000 signatures.I care deeply about this cause and I hope you will support  our efforts. Please click on the blue link and add your support to our effort. It is easy and you will be able to read many other comments that concerned supporters of our effort are writing. Included on the link page are numerous ways to pass this information to your friends and acquaintances such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Email so please help us spread the word through one or more of these social medias. A million_ signatures would be a great goal so please help us if you can.  Please enter your name and details which are completely safe. Please feel free to comment but keep all comments civil and professional.

BELOW IS MORE INFORMATION AND HISTORY OF THIS SAGA.

You may recall that in September, 2005 *Delta Air Lines*
<http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/14/news/fortune500/delta/>declared Chapter  11 bankruptcy to reorganize their finances and keep operating. Lost in all this news was the fact that the very first day in court, at the request of Delta's attorneys and the blessing of the then working pilots Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the judge approved the removal of Delta's obligation to pay their retired pilots *earned* pensions. The result was all *the pension funding was turned over* <http://articles.marketwatch.com/2007-01-05/news/30736995_1_pilots-retirement-plan-pbgc-spokesman-edward-bastian>to a government entity called *PBGC* <http://www.pbgc.gov/>or Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. After all the crazy formulas were worked out for each individual retired pilot a small percentage anywhere from zero ( 0%) to approximately thirty (30%) of the pilots original pension amount was deemed to be their new pension and paid monthly from PBGC.

To be fair, each retired pilot did receive some variously sized later settlement funds from the court actions regarding our failed medical insurance and various other items. These were paid in 2 different settlements several years after the Chapter 11 filing. Also, some of us, due to the timing of our retirements, did elect to receive 50% of our *earned* retirement in lump sum upon retirement with the remaining 50% to be paid over our remaining lifetime.In those cases, it is the remaining 50% that is no longer being paid by Delta.

Briefly, to _try_ to explain what PGGC does, I offer the following:
Failed companies that cannot pay their obligations to pension funds get the courts to allow them to turn over whatever remaining funds they have to PGBC which adds them to their master fund. Then, PBGC comes up with very mysterious formulas to determine what each pensioner is entitled to. This entire fund is blended into one big glob and bears absolutely no resemblance to the original pension obligations.

In Delta's case, the pilot’s pension fund was funded but going forward, they did not want the obligation anymore. So, with the blessing of the courts and negotiations with ALPA, the pension obligation for their Delta retired pilots was removed (only this employee group was singled out for this treatment). ALPA does not represent the retired pilots but
in this case they negotiated away the benefits of the retired pilots who had no say whatsoever (we could not afford the required attorney fees).

Ironically, on the same day that Delta filed Chapter 11 in a New York courtroom, Northwest Airlines also filed Chapter 11 in the same courthouse but in a different room with a different judge. Northwest did not ask for the removal of their obligation to continue the pensions of their retired pilots. Now, as most of you know, Delta and Northwest have become one airline named Delta Air Lines. And, guess what, Delta continues to pay the pensions of the retired Northwest Airlines pilots but ignores and refuses to revisit their obligation to pay the pension of their own retired pilots. These are the retired Delta pilots that worked entire careers to build Delta with never a work stoppage for any reason. These same pilots gave their lives and loyalty to this company because they truly believed in and loved making it the best airline
company in the world. Management did what they felt they had to do.

Now, as most of the world can readily see, Delta has recovered pretty well through much work and newer, superior management. We, the retired Delta pilots, are trying to work with this new Delta management to try to restore our pensions. It has been 7 long and difficult years for both sides but we feel the time ripe to try to right this injustice. Maybe they will talk with us if they see this petition has gained so much attention.

Again, a _million_ signatures would be a great goal so please help us if you can.

Thank you so much,
Jake Boyd

ekaj@orcasonline.com

 

VARIOUS ISSUES:

The petition page has an apparent conflict with AOL users trying to view.  Others who have PROBLEMS VIEWING, I believe that may be THAT THE PETITION IS BUSY. PLEASE VISIT IT AGAIN OR REFRESH YOUR BROWSER PAGE. It also could be a browser issue. Please use IE or Firefox and it should display just fine. In case you couldn’t read the actual letter by Rob it is included below.

First, sign the petition WITH YOUR NAME. For crying out loud, if you believe you have been wronged (or your retired pilot friends have), then PUT YOUR NAME ON RECORD.

Secondly, family members are in this together. If you have been harmed so has your spouse. GET FAMILY MEMBERS TO SIGN as well.

Thirdly, YOUR ADDRESS AND EMAIL ARE COMPLETELY SAFE! Don’t worry, those fields are not included in any public display of our petition. So do not let that stop you. I can personally guarantee that your info is safe as the petition administrator because they are only used to verify legitimate supporters and exclude internet spammers.

Fourthly, “THIS PETITION WON’T CHANGE A THING!” You won’t win the lottery either without buying a ticket. Listen, I know there is a lot of negative vibes out there, but WHY POUR COLD WATER ON ROB’S EFFORT WHEN ALL IT COSTS YOU IS A SIGNATURE? Come on, we seek a unified voice on this, join in.

And lastly, SOME DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE TERMINATION. I have heard from some who do not understand the issue completely and think we took a buyout. I can assure all that a termination is more devastating. Retired Delta Pilots (particularly the 3500 most recent) are receiving a small per centage of what they earned.

By all means SIGN and by all means add comment but keep all comments PROFESSIONAL …PLEASE!

+++++++++++++++++

Here is Rob’s Letter that is published at our petition site re-copied

here for your convenience:

RE: Make a past wrong… right!

Dear Mr. Anderson, Delta Senior Management and members of the Board of

Directors,

My name is Robert Moser and I am a retired Delta pilot writing this petition letter on behalf of retired Delta pilots whose signatures are herein attached.

I began my career with Delta in 1972, shortly after the buyout of Northeast Airlines, as a temporary part-time reservations sales agent, and retired from Delta in 2005 as a Boeing 777 international captain. I am sure that I speak for many pilots, to have been selected as a member of "The Delta Family" was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

I served with what I believe to be the finest group of pilots that I have ever known and they were instrumental for helping to place Delta in a superior business position allowing the company to acquire and merge to where it is today. Yet this group has been wronged.

Since retiring from Delta, I have flown the Boeing 777 for 3 international airlines and now that I am 65, I work as a flight instructor on the same for an Asian airline. Mr. Anderson, as you know, news organizations around the world have reported that Delta's senior management and the Delta pilot negotiators, from the Air Line Pilots Association, have achieved a new working agreement considerably earlier than the amendable date.

I commend both Delta's senior management and the Delta pilots negotiating team for their diligent efforts to achieve this precedent setting agreement. Since that news several weeks ago, I flew as a passenger on a Delta flight for the first time in several years. As I was settling into my seat the "welcome aboard" video started. To say that I was startled by your comments from behind Mr. Woolman's desk, would be an understatement. Mr. Woolman built a great airline but in addition a great “family” and he assured that family members were fairly treated. Invoking Mr. Woolman's name and symbols were distressing to me and my former pilot colleagues.

HONESTY, INTEGRITY, MUTUAL RESPECT?

I wish that I and my fellow Delta retired pilots could say that we have been treated fairly in retirement, but unfortunately we cannot.

On September 14, 2005, Delta entered the bankruptcy court in Manhattan, and one of their first requests to the bankruptcy judge was a "distress termination of the pilot pension plan." NO OTHER EMPLOYEE PENSIONS WERE TERMINATED.

On September 14, 2005  (the very same day), Northwest Airlines, where you served as CEO from 2001 to 2004, entered the bankruptcy court in Manhattan and declared that ALL retiree pensions would be continued because "it was the right thing to do."

The very pilot group that helped place Delta in an extraordinary business position to capitalize on recent big moves are the same ones that have disproportionately suffered the biggest hit during and after the re-organization. No other employee group even comes close! The statements by Delta during re-organization that the Delta retired pilots would receive 80-90% of their planned retirements has been proven to be sheer fiction and vastly overstated for a great many of  us. The thing that I wish to make clear is that this harm to over 3500 suffering retired pilot families (of our most recent Delta pilot retirees) continues, because of the pension termination. C.E. Woolman built a company that was a “family” and it would cause him pain to see members hurt unfairly.

Tell us Mr. Anderson......................

How do we explain to our families that Delta Air Lines earned a net income of $1.05 billion dollars on revenues of $9.92 billion dollars during the 3rd quarter of this year, while the pilot retiree group continues to be denied over $600 million of their earned pensions? And further, what should we tell our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, why the retired Northwest pilots (now part of Delta Air Lines) RECEIVE A FULL MONTHLY PENSION CHECK from Delta, while many retired Delta pilots receive (pennies on the dollar) from the PBGC, or in the case of some Delta retired pilots, no payments at all? That’s right….. $0 in monthly pension payouts.

Handing the terminated pension over to the government did not ameliorate the unfairness to our group, it increased it. The PBGC added additional restrictions and a draconian formulation to retirement payouts that have further punished our retired pilots of which we are appealing.

How can there be an approval of a massive contractual agreement with the active Delta pilot group that will add nearly $300 million per year in additional payroll costs while totally ignoring the Delta retired pilot’s lost EARNED pensions?

What would Mr. Woolman or Mr. Garrett say about how the Delta pilot retirees have been unfairly and unequally treated during this re-organization process? No doubt they would both be unequivocally clear and against the corporate action of pension termination. In a nutshell, they just didn’t do business that way. How do we know? Mr. Garrett came out of retirement to sign an important letter in 2003 (2 years before bankruptcy) written to a CEO predecessor who was diverting millions of dollars to insulate top execs pensions.

The letter said, "The use of Delta's funds for this purpose . . . left us in disbelief……. The payments you have made . . . will shelter the officer if the company fails. It would appear bankruptcy is no longer considered a last resort, but will now become just another strategic plan alternative to eliminate costs (including pensions) and force pay concessions." How prophetic!

Mr. Anderson, here is what you said at Mr. Garrett’s memorial:

"The thing we work the hardest to protect and preserve is that spirit and the culture of values that Mr. Garrett fostered, and that is why we are here today."

And this is what Ed Bastain said at the same memorial for Mr. Garrett:

"Mr. Garrett thought of Delta as a family, and he cultivated a family atmosphere. The values, the respect, the dignity, no matter what we are faced with, that we would do what we had to do to take care of each other."

If we had Mr. Woolman’s thoughts on this issue they would have been straight forward and strong in favor of “family.”

Mr. Anderson, you have the opportunity to fix a broken promise. We all know pensions are not a gift to the retired employees. Our pensions included deferred compensation that was earned through many years of hard work, superior customer service, and dedication to the corporation and its success by loyal employees.

Unlike Eastern, Braniff, Varig, Sabena or many other airlines, Delta Air Lines, Inc. did not die. Delta survived and recovered because of the hard work and dedication of their active and retired employees. We, the Delta retired pilots, respectfully request that you show us the honesty, integrity, mutual respect that you talked about on the welcome video, and that we worked so hard for during our careers. We know that you and the rest of senior management will be fairly compensated for the profits that have been made during the past fiscal year. The pensions that we, the retired pilots are owed, amount to only a small fraction of these profits.

We know that out of sight out of mind and that as retired pilots you may not believe that most of us were substantially harmed and are suffering ongoing financial loss. Further, you may not know that many of us have gone back to work at jobs or with other airlines to try and survive the loss of our Delta pensions. I commute half-way around the world every three weeks to flight instruct. And I am but one of many of the Delta retirees doing the same type of work. I can assure you that commuting at age 65 is difficult and is certainly not my vision of what my Delta retirement would be.

HONESTY, INTEGRITY, MUTUAL RESPECT?

Prove it, Mr. Anderson. Prove to us that sitting behind Mr. Woolman's desk was more than a photo op. Show the harmed Delta retired pilots, and their families that honesty, integrity, and mutual respect are not just empty words, but the actual goal of Delta's management team. They say a lot can be determined about a society by how they care for their dead. While our retired pilots are very much alive, it is much the same for any corporation as to how it relates to its retirees. It has been 7 years since the bankruptcy and the unfair and harmful action that was taken against the Delta retired pilots with the brunt borne mostly by the 3,500 most recent retirees. We know that this has not been the first appeal to right the inequity of this wrong.

Since bankruptcy, the corporation and active merged pilots and employees have healed and, as indicated by recent earnings, have been put on a prosperous path. Our Delta retired pilots, on the other hand, have never healed and, because of the pension termination, remain seriously harmed. It is high time……… to right this wrong! We respectfully request a meeting within 30 days of the delivery of this letter to informally plan a resolution of this issue.

On behalf of all Delta retired pilots and their families,

Robert D. Moser

More about Rob

(if above Rob link is not hot paste this in browser:

http://pcn.homestead.com/PetitionVlnteer.html )

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To SIGN and SHARE this petition visit our petition site at:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/627/208/216/the-inequitable-treatment-delta-retired-pilots-through-and-after-re-organization/

If the link is not hot please copy and past the above URL into your

browser and visit.

 

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Wow! Timing is ripe and emotions are high.  Want a great pass time just read the comments from our group.  Listen, I believe the petition has the potential to be used as a great tool to bring about a good result. 

Petition goal:  collect 5,000 supporting signatures

a.     500 received in first 24 hrs.

b.     As of newsletter up to

Petition completion: When the petition goal is met this letter will be packaged and delivered to the principle targets.

Petition follow up:

Goal of effort: to gain a sit down meeting to discuss ways and opportunities to right this wrong.

Will this work?  You know that I can’t say. Like you, I just don’t know.  You may be very pessimistic about this effort but I can tell you that there is some madness behind this method.  First, step is collecting the signatures and using the petition as a tool. Then various strategies are in the formulation stage to increase some pressure to get the sit down meeting that we deserve.  If we meet will it change anything and what exactly is our proposal?  Both open questions that I think Rob and his wingman will be working toward specifics for each, and there is a chance that it can be pulled off. Since the cause is righteous, and since there is a slim chance for a meeting and some changes, the PCN is in full support.

Become a volunteer: click on Wingman and become a volunteer in this effort.

Why am I behind this effort?  I wish to thank the PCN subscribers for hanging with me during these years and through many issues of the High Life that didn’t contain very much meaty information.  I view the issues related to our insurance, our pensions and our lost benefits as different.  I view those items as meaty and not only worth publishing but also worth getting informed about.  The petition effort is one of those kinds of things. This effort touches a nerve with all in some way.  It even affects NW and active pilots because a management team that has their “heart in the right place” assures that all groups are treated fairly in the future and in retirement. I have always supported all efforts by our DP3 and still do.  But Rob’s letter (in its original form was substantially more colorful) struck a chord with me and I think it has with you as well. Fundamentally, none of us wish to be associated with unfairness.  And none of us wish to work or be represented by a company that is unfair.  Since we were the targeted group (that the inequity was committed against) we have a vested interest in seeing this wrong made right.

Will it be successful? I don’t know, call me crazy, this is a VERY long shot.  But timing has a lot to do with things and for a variety of reasons I believe the timing is good for this effort to win its goal.  Rob is a friend and I support his commitment to this and am encouraged by his willingness to take a lead role.  The PCN is a sponsor and will remain a friend to all those who fight to make things fairer for our retired pilot group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Full post disclaimer in left column. PCN Home Page is located at: http://pcn.homestead.com/home01.html