Originally Posted by
finis72
Everybody on here has an opinion and 1 vote. I know I'm in a minority but I have always been a realist. I would love restoration but the reality to me is that under the RLA and going to the NMB, that isn't going to happen. Sailing came on here and said he wants 40% but then also stated that it will be a long struggle as the NMB has already hinted to DALPA that we won't get released for a long time (example 1, APA and AMR).
That's not managing expectations, that's reality. Reality is that DL has no incentive to sign a 1 billion plus cost increase for the pilots, period. If anybody can come on here and explain why our Mgmt team would do that I'm all ears. Our current Mgmt team is very aggressive about controlling costs and getting rid of routes that don't make money, sucks for us in the short run. SWAPA/SW is held up as our gold standard yet they are in bed together. Why do they get paid so much ?, maybe because SW makes money every year and they get a pay raise just about every year.
In my prior life I had an accounting degree and our (DL) data is still not pretty, improving but not good. I'm not managing expectations, its just reality.
I sound all doom and gloom but I still think we can get a good contract. It won't be easy and it won't be quick.
This is where you are wrong. DL does have a reason to get this done, as explained to a LCA friend by SD, the second round of consolidation is coming up, and they do not want to be negotiating a contract during that time, and they also want cooperative pilots for another expedited SOC, which we happily did for the NWA merger so we could capitalize on those $2 billion a year in SUPPOSED "synergies.". So, we know more mergers will happen, and that can help speed the process along, and be used to increase our compensation, but ALPA needs to work for it, not just give in for the sake of being nice. We pay big money in dues, and I expect results that aren't just "realistic.". I think we deserve a bit more than that. Don't settle please.