About 50 pilots who fly for DHL showed up outside UPS' Sandy Springs headquarters this morning to protest a proposed air cargo deal between the two large shippers.

One pilot, John Nolan, drove seven hours from Blue Ridge, Va., with his wife, Carrie, and children, 7-year-old Cameron and 7-month-old Jack.

Rich Addicks/raddicks@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

Outside UPS headquarters in Sandy Springs, pilots show their disapproval for a deal that would allow UPS to fly DHL cargo in North America.

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"I'm worried about my daddy's job," Cameron said.

The pilots (and family) marched outside UPS' entrance, holding bright red placards that read: "UPS/DHL destroying 10,000 American jobs."

Overhead, a yellow biplane flew a banner blasting the deal, and on the street, a billboard truck explained further: "UPS: delivering pink slips."

The pilots, part of the Air Line Pilots Association union, are upset because the proposed deal will put them out of work. The pilots fly for ASTAR, which almost exclusively carriers cargo for DHL, the German post office owned carrier that in 2003 made an aggressive bid to compete with UPS and FedEx on their home turf by expanding its U.S. hub in Wilmington, Ohio. But five years later, DHL has cried uncle, saying its U.S. operations are losing money.

To stave off further losses, the company has proposed allowing one of its main competitors, UPS, to fly its cargo into and throughout North America.

For UPS, it would be a $1 billion annual contract. But for two DHL cargo contractors, ASTAR and ABX, about 1,150 pilots would lose their jobs, plus about 8,000 other Wilmington, Ohio, workers.

In Ohio, a congressional delegation has persuaded the White House to appoint a representative to monitor the deal. Karl Zinsmeister, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, President Bush's chief domestic policy adviser, will keep on eye on the proposal, which could still be months away from completion.

The ALPA pilots have claimed the deal could violate antitrust laws. UPS spokesman Norman Black, who was also outside of UPS headquarters this morning watching the protest, said, "Every lawyer for the two companies that has examined this has concluded there are no antitrust implications."

UPS provided cold bottled water to the pilots, because, as Black said, he wasn't sure they'd be prepared for Georgia's hot summers. The day proved mild.

"That was very nice of them," said Capt. Pat Walsh, who represents the ASTAR pilots in ALPA. "I hope they'll also save our jobs by walking away from this deal."