I no longer have a fight in this anymore, but I hope you people really let it sink in that Pinnacle CEO Sean Menke, regardless of your decision will most likely file for bankruptcy in 2012. If you agree to pay and benefit concessions, you will never get it back. It will provide millions of dollars for SM's annual bonus.
Let the bankruptcy Judge make that decision and make sure pilots are represented by a COMPETENT bankruptcy attorney. Request a removal of the Bankruptcy Judge if he appears to be unduly biased against the pilot group. This is the advise I got from my girlfriend who is an Aviation Attorney.
Also, even as we discuss this, Pinnacle is advertising for pilots, CRJ Fleet Manager, CRJ Sim Instructors, and CRJ Program Managers. So, yes, Pinnacle will need to hire throughout 2012, and yes, Pinnacle will be making money in 2012, so do not give in to this classic airline management deception. Demand that SM as the CEO take a substantial pay cut in addition to getting all the money paid out former CEO PT and his cronies who stole millions from you people.
If you give in to this classic management scam, you will only slide down the slippery slope to the Never Never land where Airline Pilot profession will be reduced to minimum age manual laborers, which is what all airline management have been trying to do for the past 10 years. Take a hard look at USAirways, UAL, LCCs like JetBlue, Virgin America, and yes even Delta. Look at the way Delta is continually outsourcing it's flights to ever more regionals despite their rhetorics in the past. With the addition of GoJet, Delta now has what 9 or 10 regionals flying for them? Who can count them anymore.