Delta Air Lines Inc.'s pilots union said it received $10 million from its parent labor group to prepare for a potential strike against the bankrupt carrier as early as next week.
"A strike grows more and more likely as our deadline looms without meaningful negotiations or results," Delta Air Line Pilots Association leader Lee Moak said in a statement Monday.
The union reiterated that it will walk out if Atlanta-based Delta, which operates a hub at Salt Lake City International Airport, rejects its contract in order to cut pay and benefits. Moak can call a strike anytime after April 17 if an arbitration panel lets the airline void the contract, the union has said.
Delta, the third-largest U.S. airline, sought permission to scrap the contract in bankruptcy court last year, and the two sides agreed in December to let three arbitrators rule on the issue if there's no accord by April 15. The union for the 6,000 pilots has offered to provide less than half of the $305 million a year in concessions sought by the company.
"The real issue is resolution of the contract," Delta spokesman Bruce Hicks said.
The company, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in September, has posted $12.3 billion in losses since 2000. Delta pilot pay is the highest among major U.S. carriers, the company has argued. The interim agreement reached in December is now saving the company $143 million on an annual basis.
The pilots would take an 18 percent pay cut under the company's proposal. Average annual Delta pilot pay was $157,000 last year, the company said, citing W2 wage statistics.
The pilots union said it offered concessions that would save Delta $140 million annually.
The union said average annual pay will decline to less than $125,000 this year, from $151,000 last year, including the effect of a 14 percent pay cut under the interim agreement.
The two sides also disagree about what compensation the pilots should receive if the airline ends their pension plans, as the company has said is probable. Pilot pensions were terminated at UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc., two other carriers that went through bankruptcy.
Separately, a bankruptcy judge on Monday delayed for one week a ruling on a request by Delta's Comair unit to scrap its flight attendants' contract so it can make $8.9 million in annual pay and benefit cuts. The flight attendants' union has threatened to strike if their contract is voided.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Adlai Hardin, who also is overseeing Delta's Chapter 11 case, said he will rule no earlier than April 17 on the Comair request. His decision will let the two sides keep up negotiations. Hardin moved the date at the request of Comair and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents the Cincinnati-based unit's 970 attendants.