A fellow jumper recently told me about a conversation he had a couple of years ago with a retired FDX lawyer who worked on the last contract. I was amazed how simple the solution is to getting the contract done, he conversation went something like this;

The enemy lawyer told this pilot, "individually you guys are sharp but collectively you're one of the dumbest groups I've ever seen"

His supporting numbers were amazing, we are historically manned at about 70% of what we need to fly all the lines. If we did nothing more than fly what we bid (carry over trips in the bid pack are OK) then the company is 30% short of pilots!

How do they fill hat 30% every month?
It's easy, pilots doing makeup, draft and selling back vacation.
Even for a remedial guy like me it's crystal clear by a wide margin, STOP ANYTHING EXTRA, fly your line and freight will be left on the ramp......if freight gets left on the ramp we now have bargaining power. Our brothers and sisters in ANC recognized this fact during our last go around and thanks to their lead we got the company to take meaningful action.

Apologies if this post comes across as obvious or condescending but I was sincerely blown away by how simple the solution is and the incredible potential bargaining power we hold as a pilot group.