Originally Posted by reCALcitrant

It looks like all of the "oh my Gods" are out of the way. Now let's talk turkey. That being said, I'm a 2005 CAL Hire currently on mil leave. I hold 777 FO at EWR. Here's my take.

It's called negotiations. If you take the first offer, you lose. Jeff doesn't expect this to pass. He expects us to return it with a "no" and he'll send the real offer. Please don't fall for "Car Salesman 101" tactics. I'm also realistic. We won't get everything we want. Here is my opinion. Please tell me where I'm wrong.

Vote no.

Tell the reps we want these things fixed in the contract they wrote.

1. Pay rates have to be adjusted to be at least ABOVE the current Delta contract for 2013 and beyond. Not limited to that though.

2. Furloughs from both airlines get full credit for furlough time. This will keep our Pilot group together. It's a divisive line that's important to a small group of guys. Don't let it divide us forever.

3. Scope. I used to be a "hell no" to anything over 50 type of guy.
After a lot of thought, I'm not sure we can keep it if it goes to a arbitrator. Here's why. At CAL, we don't have 50 seat scope. They can fly unlimited 50 seat jets and unlimited larger seat turboprops. UAL lost their scope under bankruptcy. My goal in the long run would be to capture all flying under the UAL brand into our pay rates. Lofty. I don't think that will happen on this contract. I'm willing to stand the line as long as possible, but I think we'll lose this battle.

4. Lump sum is not enough. It needs to be increased by at least 50% on both sides. I'm happy with the percentage allocated to each MEC.

5. We need to adjust the work rules in the reserve section. I bid reserve for a long time when I lived in Houston. I did it because the QOL was great on the 756 on reserve if you lived in domicile. In the contract they have the ability to "double pump" reserves still. I.E. get in at 6 am and depart at 7 pm same night. Some of these rules need to be carefully reviewed again to prevent this kind of B.S. I should also say, I'm not bidding reserve when I get back, so this is not a personal issue for me.

6. The ISL will take care of itself later. Most will stay on their equipment, make more money, and quality of life will be better than today. Nobody should win big or lose big. It's a battle among us though, so tell management to mind there business. Let's not put our garbage in the streets or worry about it until after we've kicked Jeff in the robin's eggs. We're professionals.

I think CAL gains some good work rules, and UAL starts getting some pay back they've lost through years of horrible management. We have a good start to a contract. The MEC did their best. We won't get everything we want. If we can get most of it, we should take it. However, we are not there yet for UAL or CAL.

Send it back with a NO and watch what happens. Remember, it's business for them. It's a little more personal for us as we sit in the pits together for the next 30 years. Vote for each other and yourself with a good balance for both and we'll get this done and still be buds. But either way, NO on the first.

Stick together in the fight. Cheers.

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