Delta Is Doomed?

How's that for an outrageous headline?

Delta pilots have authorized a strike. It's not time to panic. Yet. Authorization of a strike in a nasty labor negotiation is a common tactic by a union to show they mean business.

Here is the depressing part. I spoke to a local union friend last night. He's not in the airline industry but he is pretty wired into the local labor scene. This is not a pessimistic man. Most of our discussions revolve around how he is working to fix issues and how the outcome is positive. That was not the case last night.

I asked if he had heard the union had voted to strike. His face lit up at the thought of wonderful solidarity. It fell when I mentioned I had been in Atlanta during the Eastern Airlines fiasco of the late 80s. I said that the two sides in Delta had to work to a resolution. My friend soberly responded that he believed there was no way the two sides could meet each other's demands. I said again, they have to work something out. He just shook his head and said no more.

When Eastern finally shut down in 91, it was a crushing blow to an Atlanta economy suffering from the malaise of a national recession. What was worse were the stories my friends at employment services told of workers accustomed to making 40 to 50 grand a year not being able to find $8.00 an hour jobs because their skill set was too specialized.

The old joke that Delta stands for Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport may soon be all too real.