But we all know where those same pilots would have been if AMR did not buy the TWA operation. And they would not have bought them if the MEC had not agrees to such language.

Actually, I'm not sure I can agree with either of those two statements.

TWA was nearing the eleventh hour financially. Three serious suitors were present and there were others waiting in the wings. AMR, Boeing, and fair to say, possibly America West. Others were AirTran, Carl Icahn , and some quack from California that didn't even own an airline. AMR's offer presented our CEO an opportunity to retain some control over TWA LLC, leave with a hefty parachute and in quotes would offer "most of the TWA employees with positions with the new airline" (unbeknowgnst to us, positions with no seniority and susceptible to immediate furlough during a sagging economy back in 2001). The Boeing offer would have resulted in paycuts and furloughes and the loss of control of the airline to an outside management firm. I am not familiar what the America West code-share proposal or the AirTran offer. I can only imagine what Uncle Carl Icahn would have done to us, and the quack from California, deal would never have been approved anyway. So to say what would have happen to TWA if the AMR offer fell threw is purely speculative. It may not have been pretty, it may resemble the trials and tribulations that our brothers/sisters at USAir, United, and Delta have had to endure or it could have resembled what the good folks at Pan Am and Eastern and others have had to go through. In short, we don't know which offer would have gone through if AMR had backed away.

It's not entirely true that AMR wouldn't have bought us if we did not agree to waive scope while we were in bankruptcy. Our collective bargain was not dissolved but in bankruptcy it was just a matter of time. In addition AMR AND TWA LLC management asked us to waive scope or else they would file a Section 1049 (I'm not sure the number, but in bankrupcy it would effectively voided our contract anyways). If we agreed to waive scope they promised us a better seniority deal. In retrospect, our refusal to waive scope would have only added one step to dissolving our scope protection. I will go on record to say, that I'd rather task management with that "one more step" to know that in my heart I did everything possible to attain/negotiate what was best for the TWA pilots. So to say that our MEC's refusal would have stopped the deal, I would respectfully say that I disagree, it would just add work to their lawyers workload.

If my memory serves me correctly our F/As did not relinquish their scope clause, it was dissolved in bankrupcty court, and they were treated far worse than the pilots..specifically, no severence pay upon furlough and 5 year recall rights which will end soon with Zero TWA F/As recalled-essentially they were fired. This 5 year limit to recalls was put in place by the AA F/A union, and approved by AMR. It amazes me how one union would so blatantly trample fellow industry professionals from another airline and then blame management.

AMR 1 AA Unions 0 TWA -22,500