Originally Posted by
Rock
As this website makes abundantly clear, people are very definitely exercising their option of voting no. You believe we can't do worse. I hope you are right. But even if we do exactly the same, we will have lost the war, delaying any form of a pay raise for an extended period of time just to prove we can say no. And if we do a little better, it is going to come at a cost that a lot of people won't believe was worth it. I really don't believe even the most adamant no voter believes we'll do a lot better on a second attempt.
In my opinion, whether we approve or vote down this TA, the strength of our union has been permanently damaged. Some of the most vocal union advocates are now some of the most angry no voters. For the first time since I've been at FedEx (well over a decade) a majority of pilots are wearing something other than a union lanyard. That might be just a small symbol, but it's significant. We've always had trouble convincing guys to fly only BLG. Now who is going to rally the troops? Certainly not our union. Too many guys think our MEC has sold them out. And too many other guys are going to take it personally if the current MEC is forced out. The greatest leverage we have comes through unity. The nucleus of that unity was our union. CD might be a good guy, but I think he'd have to be a combination of Martin Luther King, Ghandi and Adolf Hitler to rally the troops back into one team once all the pieces of this have stopped moving.
A simple No vote shouldn't mean a total restructure of the Union, MEC and NC. A No vote is just, "No". Let the NC go back to the company and say that the TA isn't acceptable. Its a big guess as to what will happen. But the fear of voting NO, is just fear. Its unfounded. If this TA sucks, or is great, then vote how you feel. I have no issue with voting against this TA. The sky will not fall and the Union will not crumble.
If this TA passes, I've stated that I will have a lack of faith in the Union. But, I won't vote on any future TA's just because of my personal feelings. I'll vote for what I think is the right course.
I've been here 21yrs. I've been fortunate to have been hired in 1996 when there was a lot of hiring and growth. I made WBCA at 47 and can sit in that seat until I retire. I'll be around 90 something on the seniority list if I stay until I'm 65. I could reap lots of money under this TA. I'll probably have enough in my 401K and MPP to not care about the pension. But I won't vote for this TA because it screws too many other guys, guys that are just getting hired here. The lack of an A plan fix is just wrong. Are we really going to walk out the door as a senior pilot, and say to the guys behind us that we did them a favor by keeping the A plan without a COLA or suitable compensation? We were polled about keeping the A plan, and our Union followed that lead. But we got nothing for keeping it under this new TA. Some people here get all upset at the mere mention of breaking out a new retirement plan for new hires. Maybe its time to think about it. If and IF the company won't move on an A Plan fix, I think we are falling on our sword to keep it for everyone. There has to be a solution. And in NO WAY, am I advocating selling anyone by creating a B plan, sub par retirement to divide the crew force. But if we vote this TA down, we are voting members, have to have some idea of how we want to proceed.