I respect your voice and vote as well. However, I just don't get what I summarized from your post (above).

By voting yes you are indeed settling for a 9% B-plan - which we will only reach in 4 years (the typical duration of an airline contract). That is what is on the table TODAY, nothing else. Maybe the 18% you want will be there in 10 years, most likely not. The time value of money, for the life of this likely to be decade long contract, is not a good argument, think about it. About AirTran, well, they were acquired by Southwest. Very different scenario than what we have going on here. I don't think that comparison is valid in any way, IMO.

Yes, my Negotiating Committee Speaks for Me, is a great phrase to display unity, but now YOU and I have our vote, otherwise the NC would have voted for all of us. What would be the point of sending it to us if we just say "I won't even read the document, and fully trust them with this decision that will affect me and my family for the rest of my career here".

And to correct your last point. Yes we actually do have PBS here already (read the Q&A from our union), and vacation is indeed affected in this TA, by the PBS already on property. Our new PBS (called SLR to not peak interest, IMO), will now grow by 20% of the R-days system wide, and our MEC has no say in the final implementation of this new and yet-to-be-discovered PBS.

Please read the TA, and apply some critical thinking to it and don't assume that "My Negotiating Committee Speaks for Me" applies to your vote. It is worth your effort. You are signing up for this for the next 10 years, and laying the groundwork for the next contract as well.