Union chief Lee Moak had key merger role

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/delta/stories/2008/04/19/dalmoak_0420.html


By TAMMY JOYNER, MATT KEMPNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/20/08

At an employees event that was more celebration than meeting last week, Delta's top officers heaped praise on an unlikely ally of management.

Pilots union boss Lee Moak, an ex-Marine fighter pilot, strode to the podium dressed in a crisp airline captain's uniform and unabashedly soaked up the applause.


Lee Moak had a key role in the Delta-Northwest merger when, as head of the Delta pilots union, he struck a labor deal directly with airline management. But Moak's deal, while beneficial to the Delta pilots, stranded fellow union pilots at Northwest on the sidelines.


Delta executives credit Moak and his lieutenants in the Delta pilots union with salvaging a foundering merger deal and driving forward creation of the world's biggest airline. They expect to rely on him to help sell politicians and regulators on the $17.7 billion deal.

Moak, who turns 51 today, charted what industry observers call an unprecedented strategy for airline labor. But detractors say it betrayed fellow union pilots at Northwest.

Rather than waiting for management to fashion a deal and then present it for union approval, Moak's team seized an influential role early on.

First, top executives of both airlines waited for Moak's team to work out an agreement with Northwest pilots on seniority matters that control pay, routes and other working conditions. When that approach failed, Moak cut a new labor deal directly with Delta. That allowed the merger to be announced last week but stranded Northwest pilots on the sidelines.

Ed Bastian, Delta's president who has worked closely with Moak, lauded the union chief's initiative.

FULL story at link.