Well, see, there's the thing nobody wants to talk about. Of course there hasn't, but it's just too easy to point to the economy and completely ignore the staffing givebacks we gave away with a yes vote.

Since the vote, the economy hasn't changed, and network's grand plans haven't changed. The only thing that has changed is how much we are willing to let our system accumulators (reserves) flex up in the summer months. Since we, as a group, saw fit to provide relief in the only area the company ever feels pinched for staffing, we have nobody to blame but ourselves for the delay in hiring.

Then again, it's much easier to blame the economy for delayed hiring than it is to admit to trading hiring and movement for a small pay bump and two years of COLA.....