Considering pay only:

So, what would your play be in this situation. Let's say the rumors are true about an 11% pay raise, with subsequent small raises. Do you vote no and enter protracted contract negotiations to try to negotiate an extra $10-$15 (5%-10% depending on seat)? I want an industry leading contract as much as the next guy. I fear at this point, should the MEC approves this AIC, the pilot group has few options. As much as I'd like to vote no on this (based on rumors), because it doesn't even come close to my survey responses, I'm not sure I want to wait "as long as it takes" to reach my goal. These negotiations could easily turn into another APA vs AMR, or Airtran vs. NPA/ALPA. If it wasn't for BKs and mergers, it's possible neither of those airline's would have a contract today.

Now consider other factors that affect W2 and QOL. We have one of the highest, if not the highest, credit for days on vacation, credit for days in training, reserve guarantee. and pension (for the majority at this point).

We also have one of the best disability programs. My last captain told me that only FedEx, and UPS have comparable disability programs. Does Delta have something similar? What would happen to you tomorrow if you lost your medical? I don't want to take this captain's word for it, because I really have no idea what other airline's have in this regard.

You know both sides of the table put a value/cost to those parts of the contract.

The fading pension puts a challenging spin on this too. It has great value today, and the cost to the company diminishes over time. We also have two subgroups within our pilot group--those with a pension, which could be value at up to 17% of pay, and those who don't, which is valued at 13.5%.

Last, but not least, I can name 5 companies that pay more than Alaska: DAL, UA, WN, UPS, and FedEx.

This list of airlines is long that don't pay more than what AS could pay:
B6, F9, VX, G4, AA/US, NK, SY, HA and so on.

I'm not suggesting that all of those airlines are in the same financial situation as AS, but I'm merely pointing out that we don't negotiate in a vacuum. Even NK had to go on strike to win those wages, and they were still sub par after. NK is growing faster and, I believe, has a higher margin than AS.

I pointed this out on another forum, why would the union even bring this group a TA that isn't industry leading? What's a line pilot to do? Of course there's always scope, which will likely disappoint.