It seems like it's always 'circular logic' after every contract vote. When I hear guys complaining about the contract (ever since we got membership ratification in 1996) and ask them, "Well, why did you vote for it?"

Their answer is, "The MEC told me to!" (and they know a lot more about what's in it than I do...and they wouldn't lie to me...and I was too lazy to read it my self or go to a meeting and find out what's in it, and I can't afford to go on strike, and and and...)

When I then ask an MEC guy, "WHY did you guys vote YES to this POS??"

Their answer is, "Well...the membership didn't DEMAND more, so we felt this was the best we could do, absent a strike, and the membership didn't want a strike, and time value of money, and we'll get them next time, and and and..."

So we have a MEC who won't lead or push management for more, or mention the word Restoration, and a membership who won't demand restoration, and will vote YES for anything the MEC puts in front of them, because, they must know best, right?

It's a circle jerk.

Remember these classics?:

"There was no money left on the table."

"We'll never see those 3% raises."

"They'll start hiring immediately."

There's plenty of blame to go around, I blame both the membership, for being lazy and stupid, and I blame the MEC, for not getting them riled up or ever keeping account of what the Pilots gave to save the company in LOA 46 and 51 and the DB plan, or for ever even being able to utter the word; Restoration.