No Fig, that's not it at all. ALPA lawyers are very smart and capable of writing very tight language that holds up well in a grievance. They are choosing to use this kind of language now. As I've said before, ALPA has decided that what is best for the pilot profession is to have a union with enough worldwide members that their critical mass will be able to control terms of the pilot profession.

But our current problem is the disparity between pilot groups. Not only domestically, but internationally. Like it or not, we at Delta are viewed as the "haves" in a world of "have nots". If ALPA is to gain the critical mass needed to become the world's pilot labor Goliath, the "wealth" of the Delta pilot (our flying) has to be spread out more equitably. If ALPA were to just come out and say that, what would be your response? You'd want blood and ALPA knows it. Thus the game of language where ALPA appears to continually get "beaten".

This symbiotic relationship is currently working for both ALPA and management, albeit for different goals and outcomes.

Carl