One more pension plan gone

One more pension plan has been revoked -- this time it's Delta's plan for its pilots. Wouldn't you think the law would put a company's promised payments to its workers at least as high on the totem pole as its promises to its bankers and suppliers? But, nope. The company can just walk away from its promises to its lowly workers.

In this case, though, look at the reason:

Delta Air Lines said yesterday that it planned to terminate the pension plan covering 13,000 active and retired pilots and some spouses, a move intended to save billions of dollars and also prevent an exodus of pilots that could have brought much of the carrier's operations to a halt.

If Delta had not begun steps to terminate the plan, an unusual set of circumstances could have prompted as many as 1,000 Delta pilots to retire as early as July 1. They would have pulled hundreds of millions of dollars out of the plan, and, by their absence, grounded a big portion of Delta's fleet.

Gee, if the pilots got that money, they might stop working on July 1. Shouldn't the company have figured that out before June 17th and started training new pilots?

Let's see now. Suppose the pilots all decide to stop flying on July 1 anyway? Those planes have to fly. I guess we'll just get a court order to force the pilots back to work.

Didn't we get rid of slavery in this country?