Meet Tim Caplinger; Founder, Delta Pilots Association

I sat down with Tim Caplinger, the founder of the Delta Pilots Association (DPA) near his home in Tampa last week. Caplinger began the interview by showing me a letter he had sent earlier in the day to Delta’s CEO Richard Anderson seeking DPA access to pilot lounges. Displaying the same candor, determination, and desire for transparency he put in his correspondence to Mr. Anderson, I found Caplinger to be an enthusiastic and upbeat individual; a necessity when trying to sell the idea of unseating a powerful and well-entrenched Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Where I had expected an angry and bitter anti-ALPA pilot, I found instead a positive, hopeful and visionary organizer.

My goal in speaking to Mr. Caplinger was to find out what motivated him to undertake this path, what he saw as the greatest reasons for creating an alternative to ALPA and what experience he brought to the formation of DPA. I was also interested in learning more about pilots who were supporting DPA. Was this the work of a special interest group or a broad coalition of Delta Pilots?

Caplinger was hired at Northwest Airlines (NWA) in 1999. In 2003, he experienced his first of two furloughs. Lasting 2 years, this furlough forced him to personally experience how ALPA worked for its members. He participated in a highly disappointing grievance process as he sought contractual furlough pay that had been denied to a large group of NWA pilots. It took 5 years and a second furlough before ALPA settled the grievance for 35 cents on the dollar. This settlement was nearly 3 times lower than a very similar settlement completed in half that time at another carrier. It was negotiated only one day prior to the scheduled grievance hearing between NWA management and the NWA Master Executive Council (MEC).

Furlough number two came a year after Caplinger’s return to NWA. This second furlough occurred despite a clause in the recently concluded NWA pilot contract clearly stating that no furlough would take place within 2 years of the contract signing. In utter frustration, he watched as ALPA sided with NWA management insisting that the ink that had barely dried on the new contract was a misprint; that he and his fellow furloughed pilots had no case. Caplinger eventually returned to work, understanding clearly NWA management’s primary role in his layoff, yet having seen from ALPA how political maneuvering and a simple typographical error cost hundreds of pilots their jobs unexpectedly.

Following the poorly handled settlement of the furlough pay grievance from five years prior, Caplinger filed 36 NASAP reports (NWA’s and the FAA’s joint safety reporting system) over an eight month period regarding various maintenance and ground safety lapses. This was his way of holding management accountable to their own standards while, at the same time, demanding his union’s full attention in representing him. This led to several meetings with both management and union leaders. Eventually, a satisfactory resolution was forged that suited everyone. Caplinger had replaced his disappointment and anger with a determination to improve both the company he worked for and the union that represented him. Through out this event, Caplinger still served the pilot group on the Negotiating Committee by completing the Scope Card each month. The furloughs and failed grievances had produced a positive outcome, both personally and in his approach toward his career.

During his first furlough, Caplinger’s responsibility to support a growing family forced him to immediately put his job loss aside and focus on survival. He embarked on an entrepreneurial venture with his brother; leading to the formation of what is now the largest fence company in Tampa. It was through the creation of a small business that Caplinger learned more about tenacity, innovation, leadership and believing in yourself. During his second furlough which began one year after returning to work from the first, Caplinger did not want to displace those who had taken over for him at the fence company. He found a sales position at a BMW dealership where he again excelled on a successful third career that ended only because of a return to his first love, aviation.

It was after his return to flying that Caplinger began seeing many reasons to explore the idea of an independent union. He watched as pilots worked in frustration to alter the bureaucratic behemoth ALPA had become. Local ALPA council resolutions were ignored and line-pilot initiated grievances were avoided. As a national union, he saw what he perceived to be serious conflicts of interest and a lack of financial accountability.

I asked Caplinger what he thought were the three biggest reasons for Delta Pilots to embrace an independent union. Without hesitation, he gave me his list:
• Conflicts of interest. ALPA represents Major, Regional, Low Cost and International carriers, all with significantly diverging interests.
• Finances. More than $35 million Delta pilot yearly dues dollars go to ALPA National with only approximately $9 million directly returning to the Delta Master Executive Council. Many of these dues dollars directly support competing ALPA carriers. Financial transparency is needed as well.
• Professional services. Caplinger thinks the Delta pilots would be best served by contracting critical services (such as negotiators and contract lawyers) to a highly skilled team of professionals and keeping the DPA union payroll lean.

Caplinger is a Detroit (DTW) based Boeing 767-ER copilot. In looking over the demographics of current DPA members, there is a wide and diverse group of pilots. DPA supporters are fairly evenly split between Captains and First Officers. There are a slightly higher percentage of pilots from Caplinger’s own DTW base, as is to be expected in the early stages of an organizing effort. Every Delta hub is represented and Atlanta, Delta’s largest hub, will soon supplant DTW with the largest number of supporters.

The selection of DPA union representatives is envisioned to become a seniority block system of representation. Equitably spreading the leadership among the entire Delta Pilot seniority list with one representative for each seniority grouping; this arrangement attempts to preclude any special interest group from dominating DPA leadership. The final say in the system of representation will be determined by the pilot membership.

In looking at the DPA website and speaking to Caplinger, potential supporters are attracted by his strategy of seeking collaboration among all interested Delta Pilots. Every pilot with an idea is welcome, including current ALPA volunteers. A system to work out differences and find mutually agreeable solutions is being developed. Caplinger does not claim to have all of the knowledge and experience needed to form a viable alternative to ALPA. He readily admits the need for a broad coalition of interested pilots working together to form an organization that meets an evolving pilot group and industry. The final product (the Constitution and By-laws – CBL) will be formulated during the authorization card drive and will be in place prior to a final decertification vote he hopes to see conducted by next May. Voting in May will provide a year and a half for DPA to prepare financially and organizationally for the next scheduled contract negotiation with Delta management.

Caplinger is eager to work for a strong and prosperous Delta Air Lines. He supports maintaining a positive, solutions-based approach to working with Delta management. He understands that well paid and respected pilots are more likely to be happy and productive pilots. He would like to help facilitate a return to the atmosphere of mutual respect between pilots and fellow employees. Caplinger thinks that a reinvigorated pilot workforce is a valuable asset to the success and prosperity of Delta Air Lines. He also sees a role for DPA in restoring a more enjoyable work environment for Delta pilots.

Finally, I asked Caplinger about pilots hoping DPA will act as a catalyst for dramatic change within ALPA. His response was emphatic, “ALPA can not be repaired. I do not want to encourage DPA support merely as a means to change ALPA. We need a new, independent union.” To his credit, Caplinger very intentionally stated he has no ill will toward ALPA and does not intend a point-by-point anti-ALPA campaign. He simply believes that an entirely new approach is needed to free Delta Pilots of conflicts of interest, install transparency for financial transactions, return greater value from a lower dues requirement and hire highly skilled professional help for Delta Pilots.

Union decertification is a difficult and challenging undertaking. Caplinger is well aware of the potential hazards of this often-emotional process. He has the full support of his family and closest friends. He recognizes the need to bring broad experience to DPA. That experience has come through the help of many Delta pilots, as well as the knowledge and support of retired pilots, pilots from other airlines and seasoned professionals. Caplinger sees himself as an entrepreneur and facilitator for the new union. He does not have all of the answers, but sees the Delta Pilots Association as a work in progress; “a new beginning in representation for all Delta Pilots.”