Yeah, mgt had nothing to do with this. /sarcasm/
The big problem with Delta's pilots is that while the older guys already have considerable dough saved up and have nothing to lose (even if their pensions are tossed onto the PGC), the younger guys will get screwed. They will have to start all over again as junior 737 pilots at SW, IF they are lucky.
This is ultimately a generational move. The older pilots feel that they have been squeezed too much and that the airline will be liquidated or consolidated anyway.
Delta's main problem is that of the industry in general: too much capacity and a high cost structure. I still believe that Delta should merge with NW, although the latter has the most MILITANT unions in the biz. With Delta's European routes and NW's Asia routes, and hubs in Minneapolis, SLC, Atlanta, and Detroit (Memphis and Cinci would go bye-bye in such a merger), it would be well positioned to take on American and Continental.