By a 12–1 margin, union leaders for Delta Air Lines' pilots have endorsed a tentative concessions deal negotiated a week ago. The 13-member board voted to send the pact to the 6,000 members of the union for a vote to be completed May 31. Reportedly, the concession package, valued at up to $290 million in cost savings to Delta, includes a 14 percent pay cut, and also gives the union a claim in the bankruptcy proceedings worth about $2.1 billion and a $650 million note should Delta move forward and terminate the pilots pension plan. The tentative agreement has avoided the need for an arbitration panel ruling, expected to be in Delta's favor, which could have caused the pilots to strike and possibly even shut down the airline for good. Now, it appears, pending approval by the union members, Delta has completed its most important labor cost savings agreement and can concentrate on its restructuring plan to exit bankruptcy.
