Delta Airlines pilots planning to go on strike

Delta Airlines pilots planning to go on strike

Delta Airlines pilots union have said that its members have voted to authorize a strike. This would happen if the bankrupt airline were allowed to proceed with a plan to slash their wages and benefits.

As many as 95 percent of the pilots have voted in favor of the authorization. This has freed their union to strike if an arbitration panel rules in favor of more than $300 million in pay reductions. Delta has said that they need this to survive in the competitive aviation market in the country.

This vote is one of the many steps the union needs to take before it can call a strike. In fact, this news comes just days before a third-party arbitration panel is scheduled to rule on whether the airline company can in fact reject its existing contract with the pilots.

Union spokeswoman Kelly Collins said in a statement: “It doesn’t mean that rejection would be acceptable. (Delta’s) demands are overreaching … and there have been no meaningful negotiations by Delta’s senior executives.”