No Sink, you didn't understand...

DALPA's argument was we are getting this deal now, as opposed to negotiating for say another year or two. They more-or-less admitted the "pay raises" (more correctly partial restoration) were not very large, but then justified them with the TVM argument.

If interest rates are say 2% per year, then negotiating for an additional 12 months costs you 2%. But if you then got a "raise" greater then 2% you come out ahead. If I still haven't explained it well enough I suggest you Google "time value of money" and hopefully someone else will do a better job than I. (My (admittedly meager) excuse is my finance degree is over 30 years old.)

Yes, we got a 4% increase last July 1, but historically speaking any increases after the amendable date are paid to the pilots as "retro pay". So the new contract got you six months of a 4% increase.

Interest rates are literally at record lows, which means the TVM is also at record lows. The incentive to negotiate a fast (but mediocre) contract wasn't there if money is cheap as it is now. Perhaps you're happy with our contract and the pay raises - I was stunned at how poorly DALPA negotiators did, and what the pilot group settled for.

Generally speaking it's better to negotiate when the economy is healthy. Clearly the US and world economies are struggling, yet Delta is making record profits. As the economy picks up steam Delta will make even more money yet we've locked ourselves out of that, indeed partially negotiated that away in the form of reduced profit sharing.

Again, If you're content, I'm happy for you. Of the First Officers I fly with a substantial percentage have been narrowbody First Officers for well over 10 years. I think it's fair to say in many cases money is "tight" at their households. When the transmission craps out on their 10 year-old car with 150K on the odometer it's big deal. They white slip above the ALV not because they want to, but because they have to. Similarly they take advantage of the pay/no credit for vacation because they "have to" to make ends meet.