Even before the news broke that US Airways was making a play to merge with Delta Air Lines, the 7,300 local employees of Delta and Comair were numb with uncertainty.

The merger proposal, announced Wednesday, just continued what the workforce for the two airlines has faced each day since Delta and Comair filed for bankruptcy in September 2005, say a number of pilots, mechanics and flight attendants for both companies.

"From my point of view, yesterday's announcement by US Airways doesn't change the level of uncertainty we're dealing with. We've been living with that for quite a long time," a Comair pilot said Thursday as he talked about life for employees of both airlines. "As soon as the company filed Chapter 11, then everyone was placed at risk."

The aggressive proposal by US Airways to merge with Delta also wasn't a surprise to employees. Union officials have been bracing for some kind of takeover or merger move all along and have sought to alert members about that possibility.

"For us, we have certainly anticipated something like this coming for a long time," said Rich Harwood, chairman of the Greater Cincinnati chapter of the Air Line Pilot Association, which represents Delta pilots. "We've been telling our pilots for a long time to expect it."

For Connie Slayback, president of Teamster Local 513, which represents about 1,000 Comair flight attendants, there's been little time to form an opinion on the US Airways proposal although if it advances the union will certainly take a position.

The news of US Airways' bid Wednesday came a day after Comair flight attendants agreed to a four-year contract that will mean 7.5 percent a year pay cuts and reap $7.9 million in savings for struggling Comair.

Slayback said she'd heard some workers bandying about new names for the combined airlines.

"They are already coming up with nicknames about what it would be called, like Delta Airways and so forth," she said. "Frankly, there's too much up in the air for people to be able to determine how it would or could impact them. It's just not on the radar. We've had a lot going on."

Joe Tiberi, a spokesman for District 142 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Comair's 545 unionized mechanics, said getting information on the merger and how it might impact his members is the top priority for the union.

"Right now, the biggest issue is there are more unknown factors and more questions than answers. Frankly, nobody knows if this will even occur," he said.

"We've been preparing for airline mergers, so we were not caught completely off guard. And we are pretty certain this isn't the last one if this does go through."

Still, the uncertainty wears on employees, he said.

"It does put employees in a difficult position. You want to plan like anybody else," said Tiberi, whose union agreed in October to accept about $1 million a year in concessions.

"Most workers' plans in life are at least somewhat dependent on their employer, particularly whether or not they will have one."

The Comair pilot said the uncertainty forces individuals and families to make difficult decisions, like a spouse deciding to put the children in daycare and return to work or a family deciding not to buy a new car or house or to take a dream vacation. It also makes it hard to plan for future events like college or retirement.

"My observation has been that to the degree people are affected, it is as a consequence of their personality. I am surprised when I find people who appear not be to affected in the least whereas with others their behavior is affected," he said.

Each individual's circumstances have bearing on how that person handles the uncertainty, he said.

"What are the sources of income for the family? Is it the sole source or multiple source?" he said. Is the employee young or old, optimistic or pessimistic?

He said the uncertainty also erodes morale, but not as much as a lack of daily support from management.
Our attrition is up. Our attrition is way, way up," he said. "That speaks for itself."
By Kerry Duke