Originally Posted by
alfaromeo
Option 1 - The Negotiators come back to the MEC and report on the final pay offer. The MEC either accepts or doesn't.
Option 2 - The Negotiators come back to the MEC and report a TA on the final pay offer. The MEC either accepts or doesn't.
Could you please spell out for me the difference between 1 and 2?
C'mon. You're being disingenuous now. There is a huge difference and you know it. Under your option 1 it is done in private. Quietly. It is simply a continuation of the negotiating process.
Under option 2, which is what happened, there is a big public announcement. ALPA issues press releases. Delta issues press releases. We have a
TA before the reps have had a final say on the most important aspects --> the final payrates and scope language. The media is all over it. It is far more of a "done deal". Rejecting it at that point would have far bigger consequences. It would amount to a public rebuke of our negotiators. It would be a public slap in Anderson's face. We would look inept, etc. etc. The MEC is under much greater pressure to approve a
"TA" than they would be to quietly send our guys back into the room to make some adjustments prior to it becoming a
"TA".
Originally Posted by
alfaromeo
In essence, what you are saying is that the MEC was able to reject a deal that wasn't a TA, but they were unable to reject a deal that was a TA.
That's exactly what I'm saying. And that's exactly what you and O'Malley and Olmstead did. You put the MEC in a chair with the hot lights on them and you made them sweat. And you made sure the whole world was watching.
That's hardball union politics. I might have done the same thing in your shoes.
But don't deny it. You only look foolish if you do.