Delta Airlines 2013 Annual Report Download - page 20

Employee strikes and other labor-related disruptions may adversely affect our operations.
Our business is labor intensive, utilizing large numbers of pilots, flight attendants, aircraft maintenance technicians, ground support personnel
and other personnel. As of December 31, 2013 , approximately 18% of our workforce was unionized. Relations between air carriers and labor
unions in the United States are governed by the Railway Labor Act, which provides that a collective bargaining agreement between an airline
and a labor union does not expire, but instead becomes amendable as of a stated date. The Railway Labor Act generally prohibits strikes or other
types of self-help actions both before and after a collective bargaining agreement becomes amendable, unless and until the collective bargaining
processes required by the Railway Labor Act have been exhausted. Monroe's relations with unions representing its employees are governed by
the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), which generally allows self-help after a collective bargaining agreement expires.
If we or our subsidiaries are unable to reach agreement with any of our unionized work groups on future negotiations regarding the terms of
their collective bargaining agreements or if additional segments of our workforce become unionized, we may be subject to work interruptions or
stoppages, subject to the requirements of the Railway Labor Act or the NLRA, as the case may be. Strikes or labor disputes with our unionized
employees may adversely affect our ability to conduct business. Likewise, if third party regional carriers with whom we have contract carrier
agreements are unable to reach agreement with their unionized work groups in current or future negotiations regarding the terms of their
collective bargaining agreements, those carriers may be subject to work interruptions or stoppages, subject to the requirements of the Railway
Labor Act, which could have a negative impact on our operations.
Extended interruptions or disruptions in service at one of our hub or gateway airports could have a material adverse impact on our
operations.
Our business is heavily dependent on our operations at the Atlanta airport and at our other hub or gateway airports in Amsterdam, Cincinnati,
Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Each
of these operations includes flights that gather and distribute traffic from markets in the geographic region surrounding the hub or gateway to
other major cities and to other Delta hubs and gateways. A significant interruption or disruption in service at one of our hubs or gateways could
have a serious impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are dependent on technology in our operations, and if our technology fails or we are unable to continue to invest in new technology,
our business may be adversely affected.
We have become increasingly dependent on technology initiatives to reduce costs and to enhance customer service in order to compete in the
current business environment. For example, we have made and continue to make significant investments in delta.com, check-in kiosks, mobile
device applications and related initiatives. The performance and reliability of the technology are critical to our ability to attract and retain
customers and our ability to compete effectively. Because of the rapid pace of new developments, these initiatives will continue to require
significant capital investments in our technology infrastructure. If we are unable to make these investments, our business and operations could be
negatively affected.
Disruptions or security breaches of our information technology infrastructure could interfere with our operations, compromise customer
information and expose us to liability, possibly causing our business and reputation to suffer.
Any internal technology error or failure impacting systems hosted internally at our data centers or externally at third party locations, or large
scale external interruption in technology infrastructure we depend on, such as power, telecommunications or the internet, may disrupt our
technology network. Any individual, sustained or repeated failure of technology could impact our customer service and result in increased costs.
Our technology systems and related data may also be vulnerable to a variety of sources of interruption due to events beyond our control,
including natural disasters, terrorist attacks, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, hackers and other security issues. While we have in
place, and continue to invest in, technology security initiatives and disaster recovery plans, these measures may not be adequate or implemented
properly to prevent a business disruption and its adverse financial and reputational consequences to our business.
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