Originally Posted by DAL 88 Driver

Look. An unreasonable cut requires what would normally be considered an unreasonable gain in order to restore. The NMB should be smart enough to know that the cuts we took were not reasonable and that this is therefore not a "normal" situation. But if our bargaining agent is acting like it IS a normal situation, then what incentive do they (or management) have to reevaluate?

Do you really think the NMB will say: Well, they had it before, they deserve it now!?! My guess is they might consider it if it was brought up but would immediately discount it when looking at the industry as a whole today. I don't think the NMB cares what is in the past. I think they would look at the current industry situation. In their minds, industry pay has already been reset. The question is: How do we overcome this obstacle?

Certainly, it's more difficult to achieve restoration when nobody else is achieving it. But IMO we've made it very difficult on ourselves by acting like we don't expect restoration. We're in a position of leadership among formerly bankrupt carriers. At this point in time, we have the best opportunity to make the case for restoration. And our bargaining agent is not doing it. That hurts us, and it hurts everybody else too. I realize that's difficult to hear, but I don't see why it's so difficult to comprehend.

I agree I would like to hear that DALPA has the goal of restoration. Would that change the way they go about trying to achieve it? Probably not.

Oh, and by the way, a 32.5% cut requires a 48% increase to restore. I'd probably vote for 32.5%, even spread out over 2 or 3 years. See, I can be reasonable too!