Originally Posted by
fireman0174
In my opinion, the one thing most (all?) of the MECs did wrong was to be so afraid of "the judge(s)" that they agreed to very conciliatory contracts.
With a rejected contract, they might have ended up with the same, or perhaps even worse contracts then were agreed to, but a message would have been sent to management that when things turned around, and history has shown over and over that it will, the pilots will be hell-bent on recouping their losses. Instead, a weak backbone was exhibited.
If I was Glen Tilton of UAL, I would be laughing out loud at the UAL-MEC’s FIN program!
9/11 gave managements a very big hammer in negotiations – actions by the union leadership increased the size and weight of the hammer.
JMHO.
Well, that's all good and well except for a couple small details:
Management's "offer" was so bad that the repurcussions would have been just about irrepairable harm to the pilots contract. Most of the bankruptcy judges are activist pro-management judges whose interest lies solely with the creditors and the survival of the corporation. That is their responsibility, not my contract.
Furthermore, accepting the Judge's ruling and come back to fight another day would not have been possible in a Bush administration with a Republican congress, since the nuclear option would have been of the table. The thought that any pilot group would have the strike option leverage with Republicans in power is just simply wrong. The only time Republicans will allow a strike to happen is if they are assured by management that the work group striking will be replaced by scabs, just like in the NWA mechanics strike. This is ideal since it provides for the busting of a union, plus the lowering of wages and benefits for all.