Subject:
Message from Will Buergey
Fellow Delta active and retired pilots:
Many of you may recognize my name from my past ALPA service
and others due to the Objection that I filed with the Bankruptcy court over the
terms of the DP3 Stipulation.
To those of us who have been negatively impacted by Delta's
treatment of both the active and retired pilots since its bankruptcy filing, it
has become painfully obvious that while Delta claims it does not have the
financial resources to pay our contractual benefits, it has substantial
resources to fight us at every turn in the court system!
My initial
inclination after learning of the demise of DP2 in the midst of the pension
termination hearings, which followed the capitulation of first ALPA and then
DP3 to the company's hordes of lawyers, was to simply give up. However, I awoke
this morning with new enthusiasm and vigor and have decided to fight this
corporate monster with all that I can muster.
I started the day by writing to my Senators, Congressman and
the President explaining how Delta had taken the generous funding benefit
provided by Congress and only applied it to the pension plan of the
non-contract (and executive) Delta employees while claiming that the ERISA
provisions designed to protect employee pension rights was actually the reason
that Delta was forced to terminate the pilot's defined benefit pension plan,
due to its lump sum features.
I explained that the recent pension legislation contained a
prohibition against lump sum payments by under funded plans, but for some
reason that prohibition was not effective until 2010. The Senate plans to make
a technical correction to the bill in the next few weeks to improve the funding
aide provided for American and Continental Airlines in the original bill and I
explained that through a technical correction, the prohibition against lump sum
distributions could be made to apply immediately in Delta's case
I have also contacted a major retiree advocacy group and
have explained that Delta has unlimited legal resources and they have been able
to "bankrupt" every effort that we mount to oppose them during the
bankruptcy process. I have asked this foundation for free legal assistance and
I have been in contact with one of their lawyers to see what they might be able
to do for us going forward.
My next step is to mount a letter writing campaign outlining
Delta's abuse of the bankruptcy system and their unseemly way of doing
business. (Did anyone read the 300 plus pages of documents that they submitted
to the Bankruptcy Court as a "reply" brief just before the hearing to
make their case for plan termination?)
It was methods like these that made DP2 realize that they
did not have the financial resources to counter this unmitigated attack on
pilot benefits. While it is expensive to mount legal challenges, it is
relatively inexpensive to write to our elected representatives and local and
national newspapers to get the attention of the American public.
I am also developing plans for informational picketing to
take place in airports around the country and in Washington, DC. As some of you
may know, I was the Delta Strike Preparation Chairman when we developed the
Strike Manual currently used by Delta and all ALPA carriers during the Contract
96 negotiations. In addition to developing the Strike Manual, I established the
initial Family Awareness Program at Delta and I believe features of both of
these programs will prove useful in mounting a public relations campaign
against Delta.
This company has demonstrated that they believe the Delta
family is dead, but it is up to us to remove the corporate plunderers that have
taken control of this once great airline and return it to its roots. The
company executives may believe that active and retired pilots are expendable,
because we no longer provide services that they value, but we can demonstrate
that we can be very costly to deal with, unless they decide to treat us with
the respect and dignity that we deserve after spending the majority of our
adult lives working for this company!
If you agree that it is too early to surrender all that we
have worked so many years to achieve, please contact me and let me know that
you are willing to help restore some dignity to the Delta pilots both active
and retired.
Will Buergey
buergeyw@cs.com
***************************************************
Email from Will Buergey
Date:
Thu Sep 21, 2006 09:29:41 AM CDT
Subject:
Financial Support
Thank you all for pledging your financial support to
undertake this appeal of the pension plan termination.
As we have learned throughout this past year, Delta will
spare no expense to attack our retirement pay and benefits in Bankruptcy Court,
therefore it takes a substantial war chest to fight them.
Unfortunately, if we do not appeal the Bankruptcy Court's
decision, then we have no recourse except to accept what Delta and the PBGC
decide they want to pay us. Our goal in this effort is to reverse the
Bankruptcy Court decision and restore the pension plan for all retired Delta
pilots. However, if we are
required to settle for something short of our primary goal, then it is entirely
possible that only those who are named in the appeal and contributed to help
prepare our case will benefit.
I do not know at this time how much it will take to continue
this appeal, so I am asking each of you to contribute what ever you can with
the understanding that anything we do not spend will be refunded on a pro rata
basis.
To avoid any potential tax liabilities you should send your
contribution directly to the law firm where it will be held in an escrow
account.
Please write "Delta Pension Appeal" in the memo
line and mail your contributions to:
Sapir & Frumkin LLP
Attorneys at Law
399 Knollwood Road, Suite 310
White Plains, NY 10603
This firm started work on our case immediately in order to
meet the court's filing deadline, which required them to set aside some of
their other projects. Please honor
their good faith effort by promptly submitting your donations.
Thank you!
Will Buergey
*******************************************************************
Date:
Mon Sep 18, 2006 11:00:16 PM CDT
Subject:
Appeal Filed
Thanks to the help of all of you, we were able to file an
appeal to the Pension Termination Decision made by the Bankruptcy Court, prior
to today's filing deadline.
While awaiting a decision on our appeal we will request that
the termination decision be placed on hold and that the PBGC delay any possible
plans to assume control of the plan.
Due to the fact that Delta has requested a plan termination and that
decision is still pending, lump sum payments should still be on hold, pending
final resolution of the termination request by Delta.
It is now more important than ever that all retired Delta
pilots contact their representatives in Congress to ask them to support a
"technical correction" to the pension funding bill to allow Delta to
immediately suspend lump sum payments until the funding deficit is corrected,
if Delta does not terminate the pilots' pension plan and accepts the seventeen
year funding relief provided in the Congressional legislation.
You will be provided with information shortly on where to
send your pledges to help fund our legal expenses. We need your contributions ASAP so that we have sufficient
funds to prosecute this case to a final and successful resolution.
Thanks for your support!
Will Buergey
All,
As you may be aware, Will Buergey,
former Delta MEC Chairman and now a retired Delta pilot is waging a last ditch
effort to try to save the Delta Pension Plan. Will has been funding this effort personally. I am forwarding a couple of pertinent
emails on this subject. This
effort will require your IMMEDIATE ATTENTION AND RELATIVELY LITTLE EFFORT ON
YOUR PART. Please take a shot at saving YOUR Pension Plan!! As a part of the effort, if it is to be
successful, we need to get Congress to make a "technical correction"
to the recently passed Pension Reform legislation (HR 4) that would IMMEDIATELY
suspend Lump Sum Payments from ALL severely under funded Plans such as ours, or
preferably, that would address the Delta Pilots Pension Plan or Delta Air Lines
specifically by name.
This email and the attachments will
provide you with the tools and the remedy to suggest to your elected
representatives. Please take the time
to read this thoroughly, review the attached examples, modify them as I suggest
in the IMPORTANT NOTES below, and join the effort to be "part of the
solution." (No future
individual complaints accepted by me if you don't participate in this effort!!)
A couple of points:
Will this be an uphill battle? ... are we simply spinning our wheels here? It clearly IS an uphill battle. But if the Lump Sum prohibition of the
new Pension Reform legislation can be immediately implemented, the odds will go
way up. This is a
"fairness" type issue that often resonates with Congress, and it is a
"corporate Responsibility" and a "government deficit" issue
as well.
The easy approach to take on
this is, and a common initial reaction may be to say, "You are wasting
your time." May be. There is no "Easy Button"
here. But the effort will NOT be
either very difficult or very time consuming for each of us individually, and
you have a lot to gain if it is successful, even if the odds may be low. Will, and others, (and I, herein) have
done most of the work FOR YOU. The
low level of effort required of you each individually results in a simple
"Cost-Benefit Analysis" that to me makes it a no-brainer to make the
attempt.
Is there precedent for
specifically naming one corporations plan in such a "technical correction? Yes, there is. Additionally, the Texas Senate
delegation reserved the right, in voting to approve HR 4 "as is" to
make a "Technical Correction."
If they, especially, can be encouraged to do so, it would further
benefit both American and Continental employees, in that if Delta is forced to
"own up" to it's Pilots Pension Plan payments over the long term (a
17-year payback period was already approved for Delta as part of HR 4) it would
prevent Delta from gaining a "competitive advantage" over these two
Texas-based carriers. Without a
level playing field (Delta ALSO having to fund it's pension obligations), AMR
and CAL could be less competitive,
and thus somewhat more at risk for termination of their own plans. (Some of your American Pilot friends
may also agree, and thus may be willing to support this effort, as per haps
will your family members and friends.)
Additionally, the Georgia
pilots should contact Senator Isackson in particular. I have been told that some Senators did not realize that the
Lump Sum prohibition WAS NOT immediate, and that included, by one report,
Senator Isackson!! There is some
speculation, at least, that Delta lobbied strongly for the timing issues, and
that even Senator Isackson was not aware that implementation was not to be
immediate.
The attached examples of
emails will serve as good models for what you can send in. Use the verbiage similar to what is
there, or modify as you see fit.
Keep it short, and to the point.
Email and Fax are the methods to communicate, and consider a follow up
phone call.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
There are some page references in the attached examples that are no
longer correct. Please delete any
and all page references in the examples which follow, as you copy and modify
them for your own use. The problem
arose due to the fact that here are several versions of the legislation out
there. For example, there are 4
separate formats for HR 4 when you do a Google Search. In fact, HR 4 is now - Public Law
109-280. The applicable SECTION is Section 103, "BENEFIT LIMITATIONS UNDER
SINGLE-EMPLOYER PLANS." Per the Bill, the "EFFECTIVE DATES" of
Sec 103 (c) (1), which is entitled
"IN GENERAL. --" of the Amendments is for "plan years
beginning after 31 December, 2007."
Further, there is a "COLLECTIVE BARGAINING EXCEPTION. --" in
Section 103 (c) (2) that says for CBAs reached prior to 1 January 2008, the
section shall not apply until the termination date of the CBA, or 1/1/2010 if
later.
****** For Simplicity and clarity, I RECOMMEND THAT YOU ASK
THAT THE FOLLOWING "TECHNICAL CORRECTION" BE ADDED TO THE BILL****
Ask that the phrase,
"Except for the Plans of Delta Air Lines," be added to the beginning
of Section 103 (c) (1) and Section 103 (c) (2).
You may wish to include that
this "technical correction" will enable Delta Air Lines to meet its
pension obligations to not only its non-contract workers and management, who
are NOT under a collectively bargained plan, but to ALL of it's deserving
employees. Additionally, it will
preclude the Federal Government (the PBGC) from inheriting approximately $1.5B
in Pension Obligations that Delta will then have 17 years to comfortably make
up, as was the original intent of the legislation in general, and the
"commercial airline exception" provision in particular..
In my view, there is clearly some
hope for success in this, so I am taking the shot and hope that you will
also. As you have seen if you ran
through the "PBGC Math" of my recent email, (which is the BEST CASE
scenario, based on ALPA guidance) we all stand to lose a huge amount if the
Pension Plan is allowed to be terminated.
Additionally, there will be a
MASSIVE financial loss for active Delta pilots who are in PC4, and who in my
judgment have not been well-represented in this matter by their Union. They, in fact, may have the most to
lose in the aggregate. Most active
PC4 pilots, in my opinion, have little idea of the magnitude of that loss. For many, it is in the HUNDREDS of
THOUSANDS of lifetime dollars individually, versus their PC4, PBGC Max
Guarantee, even on our "hard frozen" Plan. The $650M note that ALPA negotiated will put but a small
dent in that. It will not come
even remotely close to making anyone whole.
Post Bankruptcy, Delta will
make a ton of money, and has NEVER said that they cannot afford to pay these
Qualified Pension benefits -- they have primarily focused on the
"arguments" of the Liquidity Shortfall contributions and a specious
"operational disruption" scenario should Lump Sums again be permitted,
as they have stated they MUST be under ERISA. Finally, they have had their hired guns state that they
could not get exit financing with the "Lump Sum issue hanging over the
heads" of DIP financiers.
- With no Lump Sums,
there is no Liquidity Shortfall.
- With no Lump
Sums, there is no "operational disruption" scenario.
- And finally, all Delta's arguments that suggest that Lump
Sums impact exit financing, since they may again have to be paid prior to the
change of the Lump Sum computation methodology, or prior to the expiration of
the "CBA Exception" to the legislation ignore the fact that Lump Sums
will be prohibited SIMPLY BASED ON FUNDING LEVELS until VERY FAR into the
future, when the Plan funding reaches the threshold levels of this new legislation. Then, and only then, when the Plan is
healthy enough to permit Lump Sums, will Lumps ever be paid under this sweeping
reform legislation.
Finally, remember that ERISA
is LAW, and so is this. IT CAN BE
CHANGED! Thanks in advance for
your efforts, on YOUR OWN BEHALF!!
Regards,
Jim
J.G. "Jim" George, Captain, 767, LAX (Retired)
Financial Consultant
Delta Representative, PHH Investments, Ltd.
Business: 949-661-6879; Toll Free: 866-767-5757; Cell: 949-295-9025
Email: jgeorge@phhinvestments.com
<JavaScript:%20webmailto('jgeorge@phhinvestments.com');>
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
From: BUERGEYW@cs.com [mailto:BUERGEYW@cs.com <JavaScript:%20webmailto('BUERGEYW@cs.com');>
]
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 12:02 AM
To: BUERGEYW@cs.com
<JavaScript:%20webmailto('BUERGEYW@cs.com');>
Subject: Pension Appeal
Due to overwhelming response, it has taken me several days
to update my email lists with all of the pilots who notified me this week that
they supported the idea of filing an appeal of the Bankruptcy Court decision to
terminate our pension plan.
The appeals process will be an uphill fight, since no one
was left standing to formally oppose the pension termination in the Bankruptcy
Court, but we have several strong arguments to make, and believe that leaving
the bankruptcy arena will level the playing field.
As we know from past experience, money is the lifeblood of
the bankruptcy process, and it is unfortunate that Delta does not want to spend
the money to pay us our contractual retirement benefits, but the company will
spend hundreds of millions of dollars to take our benefits through the
bankruptcy court.
While we have more limited resources than
"bankrupt" Delta, what we do have is time, energy, and the will to
fight this injustice.
I believe that by waging a different and smarter battle we can
achieve a satisfactory conclusion for the retired Delta pilots. While I will be
asking you to contribute your fair share to help pay our legal expenses, what I
really want is for you to become proactive and help us with the projects that
we create to help us achieve our goals.
The first of those projects will be to immediately write
letters and make phone calls to your representatives in Congress. When the
original pension funding bill was passed in August, the Senate agreed to make a
"technical correction" to the bill to clean up some loss ends. This
correction should be completed before the recess for fall elections which is
rapidly approaching.
We have found that many Senators had no idea that the
effective date for the prohibition on lump sum payments by under funded plans
was delayed until 2010 for collectively bargained agreements. There is a
receptive audience to make a correction to this language so that Delta cannot
use the lump sum liability as their excuse to terminate our plan.
We have been developing several sample letters to assist you
in delivering our message to your elected representatives. I was hoping to have
those letters available tonight, but we are making some last minute revisions
and will have them emailed to you tomorrow.
In the meantime, please call your representatives on Monday,
September 25 (or as soon as you read this message) and ask them to remove the
2010 effective date to suspend lump sum distributions by the Delta Pilot
Retirement Plan. (The Legislation that provides the pension funding relief that
we want modified is HR 4.)
Thank you for your interest and support.
Will Buergey
Important Message From Will Buergey
To all volunteers in the pension termination appeal effort:
The documents were filed with the Federal District Court in
NY today, formalizing our appeal of the pension termination decision. We have
taken some additional steps to secure our pension benefits, but they must
remain confidential for a few more days so that Delta cannot anticipate our new
tactics.
I know that many of you were shocked and dismayed when you
received your new benefit estimate from Delta this week. I need to find out how
many pilots received notification that their newly estimated benefits will
either be zero, or insufficient to cover the cost of their current paycheck
withholdings.
To give us a heads up on the approximate percentage of
pilots who have been told they will receive zero (or minimal) benefits from the
PBGC, please forward your information to Chuck Roedema immediately. (I will be away from my computer for
the next couple of days.)
chucklr11@charter.net
(Based on information I am currently receiving, it looks
like just about everyone who took early retirement and received a lump sum is
falling within this group.)
Congress is scheduled to recess tomorrow for the
pre-election break, so any action on the Pension Bill will probably need to
wait until after the elections.
I received information from a congressional staffer today
that the best way to catch the attention of your representatives is to get your
issue into the newspapers where the representatives look for prominent issues
on a daily basis. Coincidentally,
I was contacted today by the aviation writer in a large Delta hub city and I
engaged in an in-depth interview with this reporter who plans to run a story on
the pilots' pension issue this weekend.
With the Congressional recess starting tomorrow, I recommend
that we suspend our communications with Congress and instead write
"letters to the editor" to your local papers. This is especially important for those
who live in, or near Delta hub cities.
The reporter I talked to was very interested in the human side of the
story: what was I promised in benefits, what am I receiving now, what will I
receive on October 1 (ZERO), do you receive social security benefits, etc. Don't make your letters too technical,
but you can say that a very small correction to the pension funding bill can
save the Delta pilot pensions and we are surprised that Delta did not ask for
this relief while they were engaged in lobbying for passage of the legislation.
Some of the original supporters of the decision to file an
appeal have already been asked for donations to fund this effort. I want to
thank all of you who have already mailed in your donations. For the others, this is the part that I
hate the most in this effort, but it is an unfortunate fact of life that it
takes money to hire lawyers to pursue our remedy in the courts.
I realize that many of us have just learned we will have
zero pension income on October 1, but I must ask you to make a donation to help
keep this effort alive. The odds
are against us, but we have a good legal team in NY that has been augmented by
several retired pilot/lawyers who are working for free. All of the other pilot volunteers
helping me in this effort are also working for free, and many of the legal
filings and research have already been performed by other groups that have
decided to fold their tents for one reason or another.
The law firm handling the case has established a trust
account to handle donations for this effort. Because everyone's personal situation is different I am
asking you to contribute what you can at this time. Some pilots have pledged the same amount that they have had
refunded from DP2 while others have contributed the same amount that DP3
requested in their last assessment.
Please mark the memo line in your check: "Delta Pension
Appeal" and mail your contribution to:
Sapir and Frumkin LLP
Attorneys at Law
399 Knollwood Road, Suite 310
White Plains, New York 10603
Most of you now know how much you have at stake in this
case, and a little money now will pay huge dividends if we are successful in
the appeal.
Thank you for your continued support and please let your
friends know about our efforts.
Will Buergey
Subject: Petition to Save Our Pensions
Delta Air Lines has terminated its Pilot Pension Plan.
We ask you assistance in signing the following petition to
Congress in an effort to save the pensions of all Delta Air Lines employees
including pilots. Although the
language is technical, we are just trying to get a date correction to the lump
sum provision that Delta Air Lines has said prevents them from continuing the
pilot pension plan. Forward this
email to all your family and friends to allow them to add their name to the
list. The list will be
accumulated, sorted by state, and sent/and or hand delivered to members of
Congress. The deadline for signing
the petition is November 5, 2006.
If you can personally deliver the petition to your Congressman or
Senators email wglewis7@bellsouth.net.
Please follow this link "Save Our Delta Pension Petition Form"
<http://66.23.211.166/forms.nsf/petition?OpenForm> to a web page that
will allow you to add your name to the list. To add a spouse, return to the form and fill in again. To see the current List of Names on the
Petition click here <http://66.23.211.166/forms.nsf/List?OpenPage> . The petition will be checked for bogus
or duplicate entries.
This is no substitute for individually contacting your
representatives and please continue to do so.
Thank you for your efforts.
Wendell Lewis, Will Buergey, Chuck Rodema
V1.06
TO OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES:
We the undersigned respectfully request your assistance in
saving the pensions of all Delta employees, including pilots.
On August 4, 2006, Delta Air Lines petitioned the Bankruptcy
Court for a Distress Termination of the Pilots Pension Plan. In a one hundred thirty page filing to
the court, ninety nine pages are devoted to affidavits from company officials
(Bastain, Coleman, McDaniel, and Watson) stating that the plan had to be
terminated because of the resumption of lump sum payouts.
Recently passed Pension Reform legislation, HR 4, Public Law
109-280, contains language that requires Delta Air Lines to possibly resume
lump sum payments from the Pilot Pension Plan. Section 103, "BENEFIT LIMITATIONS UNDER
SINGLE-EMPLOYER PLANS." Per the
Bill, the "EFFECTIVE DATES" of Sec 103 (c) (1), which is
entitled "IN GENERAL.
--" of the Amendments is for "plan years beginning after 31 December,
2007." Further, there is a
"COLLECTIVE BARGAINING EXCEPTION. --" in Section 103 (c) (2) that
says for CBAs reached prior to 1 January 2008, the section shall not apply
until the termination date of the CBA, or 1/1/2010 if later.
A technical correction to the bill that would prohibit lump
sum distributions immediately could possibly enable Delta Air Lines to meet
their pension obligations. I urge
you to join the other members of Congress to make a āTechnical Correctionā to the Pension Reform
Bill and remove this discriminatory exception, or to add the phrase
"Except for the Plans of companies that have declared bankruptcy," to
the beginning of Section 103 (c) (1) and Section 103 (c) (2), thus making the
Lump Sum suspension available immediately. Any suitable language to prevent resumption of lump sum
payouts for under funded plans could save the pensions of thousands of Delta
pilots.
Your assistance in correcting this provision is essential to
the lives of many of your constituents and fellow Americans. Every effort should be made to insure
that Delta Air Lines lives up to their moral and contractual obligations to all
employees as intended by Congress and the President.
On behalf of all Delta pilots, retirees, their families and
friends, thank you for your efforts.
Fwd: 10-21 Update to Volunteers
Thank you all for your support of our efforts to overturn
the Bankruptcy Court decision to allow a distress termination of our pension
plan.
I will be sending you a series of messages over the next few
days and I hope that you will take the time to read them, because I realize we
have many new supporters this week and there are a lot of questions out there
about this whole process.
I will try to clear up some of the questions at the same
time that I will be providing you with more information on our political
efforts to change the new pension legislation. This effort seeks to immediately ban lump sum payments by
severely underfunded pension plans by removing the 2010 effective date included
in the original bill. (This will
make our efforts to restore the plan much easier if we are successful in our
initial court appeal.)
In this message I am also including an answer that I
prepared in response to a question from one of our new supporters about the
relationship between our efforts and a retired pilot's membership in DP3.
I guess this would also be a good time to talk about DP3 and
its efforts to protect the pensions and benefits of the Delta pilots. I have been a past supporter of DP3 and
paid all of the requested assessments up until they reached their Stipulation
with Delta that resulted in DP3 agreeing to settlement terms for the lost
non-qualified benefits. (Up until
the time the non-qual plan is actually terminated.) I not only disagreed with the settlement terms, but also
with the fact that as part of the settlement, DP3 agreed to withdraw all of the
court motions that they had filed to protect our pension benefits from the time
of the bankruptcy filing until the settlement was reached in late May 2006.
I opposed the DP3 settlement in Bankruptcy Court, but Judge
Hardin ruled that I did not represent the majority of the retired pilots and he
would not let me speak for the other pilots. The judge issued a ruling on August 22, that separated me
from the DP3 agreement, but bound all other retired pilots (with the possible
exception of a few who had supported my objection, but did so after the
objection period had expired).
This court decision binds the other retired pilots to the terms of the
non-qualified settlement, but it does not bind you to the decision by DP3 to
not oppose plan termination.
DP3 will argue that they negotiated the best agreement
possible, but I do not agree, and I do not agree that their decision to support
pension plan termination was in the best interest of the majority of retired
pilots, especially if we are successful in our legislative campaign to make the
prohibition on lump sum payments by underfunded plans effective immediately.
This week our lawyers went to court to attempt to modify the
terms of the Medical Plan changes as agreed to by the Pilot 1114
Committee. This Committee was made
up of several retired pilots including many DP3 trustees and again I feel that
they reached a deal that does not treat the retired pilots fairly or
equitably. For example, in spite
of the fact that 25% of the retired pilots are under age 60, there are no under
60 pilots on the Committee, and many of the medical changes seem to penalize
the younger pilots who also make up the majority of the group who are now
receiving zero pension annuity.
In addition, Delta's financial condition and the cost of
fuel have changed dramatically since Delta's bankruptcy filing, and our
attorneys argued that the pilots have suffered more than their fair share of
financial hardship during the bankruptcy process and in light of these factors,
the medical changes for retired pilots were not economically justified.
Our lawyers fighting the medical changes went into a courtroom
where they were clearly outnumbered with lawyers from the Non-contract 1114
Committee, the Pilot 1114 Committee, the Creditor's Committee and the company
all arguing for approval of the changes as agreed to. In the end the judge over ruled our objections because he
said that he did not have the authority to override an agreement reached by the
Pilot Committee.
I am hopeful that when we go to the hearing in Federal
District Court appealing the termination of our pension plan, that we are not
opposed by attorneys from DP3, the non-contract employees, and ALPA supporting
the termination decision.
For those of you who have been members of DP3 and ALPA, I
suggest that you communicate with their leaders that you do not support pension
plan termination, and that you do not want to see them using our contributions
and past dues income to hire attorneys working against the best interest of the
majority of retired pilots.
For those of you who have not yet made a contribution to
help with our attorney fees, I will remind you that it takes money to fund this
effort and we have made every effort to hold expenses to a minimum. I do not receive any compensation for
my efforts and there are a number of other volunteers putting in long hours to
assist me in this effort, including a group of retired pilot/attorneys who are
also donating their time. We do
not have a required minimum contribution, we only ask that you contribute what
you can.
Checks should be written to Sapir &Frumkin, LLP and mark
the memo line: "Delta Pension Appeal." If you did not ask to be included in the objection to the
medical plan changes but would like to assist in the expenses for that effort,
the memo line should be marked: "Delta Medical Objection." (Those who were named in the objection
will be asked to pay for the remaining expenses themselves.)
Sapir &Frumkin LLP
399 Knollwood Road; Suite 310
White Plains, NY 10603
And now for the question and answer I said I would share
with you:
Will:
Are there any limitations as to the āclassā or which pilots this
appeal applies to? If a member of DP3 and you read and complied with what they
sent out, are you excluded from any relief provided by this appeal? Is this an
appeal to simply force a reconsideration of the entire process and termination
of the Pilot Pension Plan in light of the new pension legislation and therefore
applies to ALL regardless of DP3 or DP2 settlements or is this an appeal
seeking relief via a settlement and therefore doesnāt apply to every pilot
because of the negotiated settlement by DP3.
Iām sending a check to your law firm but want to make sure
I understand what Iām buying into, its limitations, and who if anyone is
excluded. I wasnāt happy with DP3ās settlement but felt there was no other
recourse at the time. Does this then exclude me, if I didnāt ācommitā to not be a part of the
DP3 settlement class. Iām confused and based on the many calls Iāve
received over this, so are others. Clarification of rights and exclusions by
the lawyer types would aid the recruitment effort.
Thank you for your tireless efforts and in advance for the
coming information!
John
My Answer:
John:
Thank you for the support and for writing me with your
questions regarding the DP3 settlement.
The appeal that I filed applies to the termination of the
pilot pension plan itself, and if we are successful in the appeal, not only
will all retired pilots have their qualified pensions restored, but the
non-qualified plan will also be restored, because it can only be terminated if
the qualified plan is terminated first.
In fact, many pilots are under the mistaken impression that
the qualified plan has been terminated.
That is not the case at this time.
The Bankruptcy Court does not have the authority to terminate the
pension plan. Their authority
allows them to make a determination that the company has met the standards for
a distress termination, but the plan is not actually terminated until the PBGC
accepts the plan.
At this time the PBGC has not accepted the Delta pilots'
plan, and the agency has appealed the terms of Letter 51 and the manner in
which it rewards active pilots if the plan is terminated, without sharing any
of the benefits with the retired pilots.
According to the PBGC, both ERISA law and the agony's rules, require
that any benefits associated with a plan termination belong to the retired
pilots ahead of the active pilots.
(The company and ALPA have both testified that the $650 million dollar
note and $2.1 billion claim awarded to ALPA are not compensation for plan
termination, in spite of numerous documents produced by both ALPA and the
company that link the compensation directly to the pension plan
termination. In fact, the $650
million note clearly states that it is only payable if the pension plan
terminates.)
According to the PBGC's arguments in Bankruptcy Court at the
May 31 hearing, the retired pilots have first right to any compensation
provided by Delta for the termination of our retirement plan, and we should
receive any termination benefits before they go to the active pilots.
The terms of the DP3 Stipulation bind you to the settlement
of your non-qualified claim, but they do not prevent you from opposing plan
termination.
I hope that answers your question.
Will Buergey
If you have not yet supported us financially, please remit
your contribution to Sapir and Frumkin, LLP and mark the memo line of the
check: "Delta Pension Appeal."
Sapir &Frumkin LLP
399 Knollwood Road, Suite 310
White Plains, New York 10603
Thanks for your support.
Will Buergey
Letter from George Berg
From: berg1108@aol.com
Subject: Jack or Roger, Would one of you clean this up for
me and send it around the net. Thanks, George
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:24:49 -0400
September 14, 2006
Dear Fellow Pilot,
Today marks the anniversary of Delta's Chapter 11 filing.
Just a few short years ago, few imagined that our company might one day be
financially insolvent. However, in
the months preceding the filing, it became increasingly clear that Delta' fall
into bankruptcy was imminent, even despite the massive concessions of Letter
46-concessions of over one billion dollars per year. We had done all we could reasonably be expected to do and
more to help Delta avoid bankruptcy, but those efforts alone were not enough.
On the afternoon of September 14, 2005, bankruptcy became a cold, harsh reality
for each and every employee. An
illustrative definition was provided over two centuries ago by French
revolutionist Honor Gabriel Riquetti. In a speech before the National Assembly,
Riquetti asked, "What, then, is bankruptcy, but the most cruel, the most
iniquitous, most unequal and disastrous of imposts?" That illuminating
observation remains every bit as true today as it was two hundred years
ago.
Lee Moak, Chairman
Delta MEC
FROM AN OLD CHAIRMAN
September 18, 2006
My Friends and fellow retired pilots,
The letter above contains excerpts of Lee Moak's recent
"FROM THE CHAIRMANā
letter. I find it falls short in
historic knowledge, compassion, and the camaraderie of the men of my
memory. I cannot compare it to
what I might have written over 30 years ago as MEC Chairman. Times HAVE
changed. The current pilot group
faces many problems. Believe it or
not, however, 40 years ago we did too.
What is now considered an illegal rotation was standard then. We were required to be qualified on as
many as 3 aircraft at one time, jet and piston. During my career, three fatal DELTA training accidents
occurred because training was done in the aircraft. During my time as MEC Chairman four DELTA major line
accidents occurred. Two of them
Fatal. Also, two pilots were Shot
in an attempted hi-jacking; one was a fatality, a father with a wife and two
small children. Many other planes
were hi-jacked but through the skill of the crew returned safely. WE PAID "Payroll deduction"
for our Disability and Survivors Benefits.
WE PAID "Payroll deduction" for our pension. And contrary to the belief of the
current pilot leadership, we paid for it and its enhancements in almost every
contract since. The retirement
plan was not "OUR RETIREMENT PLAN" as claimed by the ALPA of today. It was "THE RETIREMENT PLAN"
of every DELTA PILOT, working OR retired.
It was earned by things left on the table in order to enhance its
benefits for us and future Retirees, Survivors and Disabled Pilots. Granted, the retirement plan is now
under-funded and gone. But who
bore the fiduciary responsibility for closely monitoring its condition? A 70-year-old retiree? Of course not! It was ALPA, National and Local! Where were these people of
responsibility while the Retirement Trust was decaying?
Where was the grievance that should have been filed when
required payments to the Trust Fund were not made or Non-Qualified payments
were dropped? When LOA 51 was
agreed to, the worst of human nature rose to the occasion. It became a shining example of American
Business today. "Who cares if
Flack Jackets fail under fire, as long as corporations get their money!" .
Every Captain the current MEC flew with, every patient mentor to young pilots,
who helped them learn their trade, was instantly forgotten for a promise of a
bag of "thirty pieces of silver". Yes, there are many sad losses today and many more will
come. A lifetime of the bond of aviation's best was lost and ignored in a
frenzy of self-interest. Were
other options available to ALPA? Certainly. Could those who would lose everything be protected? Certainly. Could ALPA represent retirees? What would you call the negotiated changes to pension
funding, invasion of the D&S trust, willing agreement to allow the
termination of the RETIREES pension plan?
Parts of the negotiation of LOA 51 that were unknown to ALPA? I think not.
I grieve for the Air Line and the integrity that was its
life's blood, and its glory that I once knew.
What is left when honor is lost? Publilius Syrus (~100 BC), Maxims
George E Berg
Captain (Retired)
Chairman Delta MEC 1972-1974
