Originally Posted by
reCALcitrant
My point is this is the first offer that we get to vote on. Which means it's the first offer. What other offer did you all see? They know the game. Why don't we?
Comparing Airtran to us is not applicable. They were bought with the intention of getting rid of airplanes. They had no leverage. If they walked away, they would've been fired and the 717's sold even quicker. Southwest would've just hired replacements. Gary made that clear. But SW had all the chips. Different from our situation.
AA also different as they are bankruptcy. But surprisingly they have managed to swing back while getting getting kicked in the jewels. They have more resolve than our group. Hence, their contract is still better than legacy CAL. We need to grow a pair collectively. We haven't even "flown the contract" for goodness sakes.
I'm not saying to vote no just to be difficult. I've read the entire contract and the notes. I would vote no for the above mentioned reasons in the original post.
If you've waited 4 years, what's another 2-3 months to get a 9% raise immediately? Don't let impatience cost you money in the long run. They are counting on it.
We are talking semantics here, I think. Your thread title was "NEVER take the first offer". My point is, SOMETIMES taking the first offer was is the best move... aka Airtran. It all depends on leverage. And at this point, I contend that you and I don't have any idea who has it, and how much. THAT is why I want to go to a roadshow so badly. I want to hear from the guys in the room. THEY are the ones that are most qualified to determine what kind of leverage we have with the NMB.
I'm certainly not suggesting that your "no" vote is inappropriate or incorrect. That's your business, and I applaud you for reading the entire contract before you made your decision. I respect your rationale. But you opened up THE can of worms in your last sentence.
"If you've waited 4 years, what's another 2-3 months to get a 9% raise immediately? Don't let impatience cost you money in the long run. They are counting on it."
I too would be MORE than happy to wait another 2-3 months to get a 9% raise!! Would you be willing to wait another 2-3 YEARS to get a 9% raise? Mathematically that would be an error. Which would it be? Quite frankly, I doubt that you (or I) are presently in a position to answer that question. Hence my strong desire to go to the roadshow and hear from the guys in the room.
Frankly, I was shocked by the MEC vote. On the UAL side, 12-3 was astonishing to me. I fully expected it to fail. Or at LEAST be 8-7. They heard SOMETHING in their briefing that made so many of them vote yes. I know personally some of the "yes" voters, and they are NOT wilting flowers. So why the overwhelming "yes"? Was it a strategy for the NMB to send it to us KNOWING we would turn it down, thus gaining some leverage? Was there something said by the NMB tipping off our JNC that there would be NO more money, and they would NOT be releasing us? Beats me!! That's what I intend to find out before I make my decision.