Pay is only one part of any contract. One of the large issues in their contract talks is outsourcing. Those pay raises won't do much good if half of them lose their jobs to China. Every airline contract has a section on scope--would you sign a contract allowing your airline to outsource a large portion of your jobs? Some have--most won't. I applaud the Boeing workers because I know it's more than an 11% pay raise over 3 years (management's numbers).