[AChimp]

Ronnie, your viewpoint has become biased because of all the lunchroom conversations you're heard on the topic. You can't blame Delta's situation entirely on the pilot's salary. If all they talked about was how much money they're losing because of bags of peanuts, you'd be posting about that in all-caps on here instead.

In all likelihood, they're probably also paying YOU too much (which is why you should ask for a pay decrease, ASAP. Encourage your ticket punching coworkers to do the same to show those dirty pilots who the real Americans are!). There's probably someone out there who'd do what you do with a big smile for half as much.

Why did Delta negotiate a contract like that has become so detrimental to begin with? Why did they hand the previous CEO massive bonuses and a seven figure going away present? It's survival of the fittest in a capitalist economy, Ronnie! If Delta is dumb enough to negotiate a contract that causes them to bottom out, why, it would have only been a matter of time before something else happened. If bad stuff didn't happen to dumb companies, the good ones wouldn't shine, would they?

This bankruptcy issue is a ploy to get the union to grant concessions. The union will laugh in their face and demand concessions in return (like contract extensions, which is what they wanted last year in exchange for a pay cut). Take a few courses on HR to find out all about it.