From Block 1 Rep:
What You Put Up With, You End Up With
What You Tolerate, You Give Permission To Exist
Why did I vote "NO" on this TA?
Fair question. Understand that explaining my own actions and opinions below—why I voted against this TA—is not the same as telling you how to cast your own vote. I won't do that. Before I go further, invest a couple of extra minutes in your future. Review this video from last summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOORJoeG-14
That moment was a show of strength, the likes of which has never been seen on this property. That moment was a powerful demonstration of negotiating capital. That moment should have been replicated manifold this year, but when the crunch time came, you were denied any further opportunity to leverage your Unity, participate in the process, and influence this TA for the better.
I voted "No" because at the very moment when you were ready to go to the wall and fight for what you deserve, your MEC was ambushed with a stunning capitulation which we never saw coming. Because this document encumbered your MEC with a bad option and a worse option, but no good ones.
I voted "No" because I have faith in the strength you've shown throughout this process. Because I have more faith in you than this TA does. Because I believe this TA abandoned you—the most unified pilot group in our company's history—on field of battle. I voted "No" because you asked me to fight for you, I promised you that I would, and when I leave the fight it's supposed to be on my shield, not my horse.
I voted "No" because if I'd told you just one month ago that I'd consider the elements of this TA as acceptable, you'd have recalled me. Because this TA is bad for older pilots and even worse for younger ones. Because the A-Plan increase is AWOL and the B-Plan increase is insulting. Because this TA actually has less than the claimed retro pay and less than the claimed 3% year over year raises, and because if even that simple math isn't right then I have cause to worry that there are undiscovered mistakes in other, more complex sections.
I voted "No" because the small pay increases that do exist will be largely cancelled out for basically having to fund your own retirement from this point onward while paying as much as $2000/year extra for your healthcare. Because there are unadvertised concessions in the new work rule sections. Because the sum total of this mediocrity is locked down in a six year TA, which means you will probably have to live with it for 8 years at the very least.
Most importantly, I voted "No" because this is fixable.
I don't heed the fear mongering. When I hear "The company drew a line in the sand," I take a deep breath, recall the Unity you've shown, and say...So? When I hear "If we don't take this crummy deal now it could be a while before we get a better one," I say...Our pilots would rather wait one year for the right deal than live with this one for eight.
Will the economy be a lesser one next year? Maybe. Will the NMB take a break for a bit? Maybe. Those are considerations. Understand though, that they are only considerations. Those aren't unassailable monsters hiding under your bed at night, as some would have you believe. Understand that there's a bit of fear mongering going on, brought to you by those who are emotionally invested in this TA for having created it, and who will suffer great embarrassment should you reject it in confirmation that they fell short of the mark.
Please also understand; Basic human nature dictates that anyone who creates a TA and is charged with presenting it to you in webcasts, videos and road shows is unlikely to say that there were mistakes made. They are not likely to tell either you or your MEC that there was money left on the table. It's basic human nature to say, "If we didn't get it, it couldn't be gotten." Personally, I don't believe a word of that because my faith is in you—the pilots who are the power in that video above.
You Are The Solution
Again, I'm not here to arm-twist your vote. I'm here to explain mine and to reassure you that the world doesn't end if you reject this TA. If you stand firm, you aren't going to be stranded in a negotiating desert. If you turn it down and send us back to the table, your MEC will have a mandate to:
Poll you
Learn what needs to be fixed
Fix it
That might happen in a month or it might happen a year, but if you want it then it will happen, because you will make it happen.
If you don't reject this TA? Well, we will all just live with it. Exactly what it is (and isn't) will be the subject of a series of comms to follow.