In that situation? What we did!

I think we were right to fight. The company stopped negotiating in good faith. The NMB said so, the White House backed them up, and were were released. The MEC did their homework, and knew the fight would be allowed to happen. The company didn't think it would, and tried to make it look more dire for the economy by ensuring (via lockout) that it would be a TOTAL cessation of operation.

I also think it would be stupid to ignore what our fight gained us. We followed the rules, fought the fight, and got 3%.

It certainly set the stage for the larger gains at UAL and DAL a couple of years later, but in terms of gains for the NWA pilots - not much.

We fought a lot (the 3% Snap Up was a fresh example for us in 1998), because that was the only way to achieve any gains with that management.

Our peers at SWA and elsewhere didn't fight, and managed to maintain their gains while were backsliding after 9/11. Different management. We have a different management now, too.

The gains we've gotten since the merger have been done without drawn-out negotiations. Our MEC has done their homework, and knows how the NMB and White House view "fighting" in this environment.

Call your reps and ask them what they've heard from the NMB about our ability to get to a release in this lifetime.