Originally Posted by
Check Essential
My jaw just about hit the floor when I read the "Update" put out by the MEC from their Special Meeting. The "develop the ability to say yes" piece.
It sounded like we've already surrendered and they are starting to prepare the pilots for the bad news. That was possibly the most horrible and demoralizing thing any union could have published at this point in a contract cycle.
But then I told myself, "Self. This can't be what it sounds like. Its way too early. They just need to fire the Communications guy. That can't be the real tone of the meeting."
Now this leak of the specifics they've been discussing at that meeting.
Oh no. C2012 deja vu.
4833 and all the other concessions started with a leak exactly like this.
This is bad. This is real bad.
I don't know what this is yet. I read the e-mail after reading APC, and I was expecting a disaster. To be sure, it's entirely possible we'll end up with a weak deal that will pass, so I share your concerns.
The piece I didn't like was the suggestion that an election means we must rush. It's amazing how willing we are to anticipate and magnify threats.
That being said, the way I interpreted the discussion is Donatelli requesting the MEC to behave like honorable men, and a functional body. If we demonstrate the same divisions that we showed during/after C2012, and the modified TA that included the CDO's, we're going to cost ourselves a lot of money. Like it or not, the leverage of the guy(s) negotiating the deal increases when he/they have a legitimate claim to represent the group. The less certainty in the outcome of a TA, the less value it will have. I know this isn't an easy concept to acknowledge, but it's the way it works.
MEC develops clear position that respects group, members back consensus > NC speaks for a unified body > all parties have confidence in outcome > parties can commit to a deal = maximum leverage.
A divided MEC + members that leak selectively > crippled NC that can only offer a TA that will be subject to an uncertain outcome at MEC = marginal results.
So I don't just scrutinize Donatelli's words, but I also look at the contents of the leaks. When I see words like "good men" and "weak links", I know I'm being manipulated. Now, we might assign more weight to one group or another, but the fact that we're manipulated at all just about guarantees we'll be poorer. The fact that this MEC leaks, and selectively, really bothers me. The people doing the leaking are doing serious damage, and probably doing the company's job by resetting expectations lower.
All that being said, there seems to be an extraordinary enthusiasm to move forward and get to a deal that frankly, I don't understand. I have the uneasy feeling of watching a new airplane that may not be quite ready, being placed on a very aggressive testing schedule. AND now the test crew is fighting among themselves. I don't know if this thing will fly, but the infighting is a bad sign, a real bad sign.