Mike Donatelli yesterday:
On time on target is now an opportunity. This deal on the table, when considered in total, because that’s the only way to judge a product, is so much more than 2012. Imagine what this will mean to Delta pilots and their families.

But still, this is just an opportunity. Because, you, the MEC are here to take the next step. To figure out if this will go to the Delta pilots, to let them decide.

Well, I often hear the terms “member driven” and “bottoms up” when describing what we do. Well, it’s time to walk the walk, not talk the talk. It’s time to put the Delta pilots back at the controls.

It’s time to let them cast their votes as ALPA members, and as Delta pilots. And let me be perfectly clear on one last consideration: These are mature negotiations in which we pulled every trigger, fired every bullet, to deliver every last penny.

The idea that we can simply resume negotiations…go back to the table and pick up where we left off is a fallacy. It simply won’t happen. It bears repeating, gentlemen: It simply won’t happen.

The next step if we can’t move forward right here and right now is to step back and prepare for a long slog with the NMB… Just like FedEx…. Just like Southwest. Our fate will be in the government’s hands.

So, in closing, I say this to you…Best in the Business…This is ours to own and for our pilots to decide. We can’t blame the Company. We can’t blame the government. If we can’t act on the richest agreement in our history…The Best in the Business, then the blame is squarely on us. Let’s get to work.