Originally Posted by
JungleBus
100% agreed. It's Section 1 for a reason.
On another subject:
It occurs to me that all this talk about various concessions and what is and is not acceptable is the end result of a long and deliberate campaign of expectation-setting. It began nearly a year ago with Richard declaring his wish to have a contract ahead of time. This was repeated often until it became a widely held expectation that we would have a contract ahead of time - even the company wanted it! Followed and reinforced by the "On TimeOn Target" slogan from DALPA. Various social media grenades about at-risk compensation to start that conversation going. Frequent negotiations updates that never contained any real information but strongly emphasized the historically fast nature of the negotiations and how much this showed the company's commitment. The company using the check airman corps to spread rumors of their wish list, such as the oft-repeated claim that our sick time usage is much higher than other pilots or our productivity is far lower. A nearly constant barrage of rumors throughout negotiations from dubious sources, often conflicting but most generally concerning various concessions that had supposedly already been granted.
The cumulative effect is one of induced negotiation fatigue - only a couple months into negotiations and well before our current contract expires! - and a reflexively defensive posture in what ought to be a wildly positive negotiating environment. Somewhere at Ford & Harrison, there is a powerpoint file that was presented 2 years ago that outlined this precise strategy. They have some of the world's best corporate psychologists working for them. They know the pilot psyche very well.
In preparation for giving this TA an honest and thorough evaluation, we need to consider the effects of the company's manipulations on our own state of mind, and apply countermeasures. Think back over everything that has happened the last six months, realize that nearly every single step was likely intentional, and consider what the intended effect on your attitude was. Before these manipulations, what was your evaluation of the health of the company and industry and your expectations for your next contract? This will make a good yardstick by which to measure the coming TA.
Truth!
When reviewing the TA, don't review it thinking "I can live with that."
Review it thinking "is this the WORLD's greatest airline contract?"
Does it:
-Give you the spending power of contract 2000
-Max your 401k?
-Pay all of your health insurance?
-Grant you vacation and training pay/credit in line with your daily pay/credit?
-Recapture scope?
-Make non-rev travel a "benefit"?
-Drop your trips for pay that touch your vacation?
-Add much,much more than I am thinking of?
Because folks, that's what some other pilot groups get and some of what we used to get.
Let's see what our union's vision of the worlds greatest contract looks like. If it doesn't reflect our sacrifice that paved the way for a $5,000,000,000 billion dollar stock buy back, may I encourage you to do your part to make this profession what it once was and can be again...and vote no.