Some of you may have noticed the Negotiating Committee has now published their Roadshow Slideshow. It's too bad they didn't publish it ahead of the Roadshows so we would have had an opportunity to study it and ask more informed questions, but at least we have it now.

Without Copying and Pasting images here, it's a little cumbersome trying to reference a particular slide and have a conversation about it here, but I'm going to try. I'll begin with the slide titled "15 year WB Captain Scenarios". It's about #91 in the lineup here: Roadshow Presentation pdf. Alternatively, you may find it easier to look at this YouTube video with a time bookmark -- click here and it should take you directly to the selected slide: Memphis Roadshow - Begin at 1:22:57


This slide is the first of four which present the Retirement & Insurance Committee Chairman's projections for "Total Additional Cash Out the Door" for those who are able to take full advantage of the "Die Trying Program." It includes increased pay, increased DC contributions, maximum vacation buyback, and maximum "bonuses".

I draw your attention to the lines near the top titled "Yr 1 Pay" and "Yr 2 Pay." The values presented on these lines represent the direct compensation of 1,000 Credit Hours at the respective pay rates.

Now for a little focus on math. If I multiply a pay rate which consists of dollars and cents times 1,000, what will the last digit in the result ALWAYS be?

$DDD.CC * 1,000 = DDD,CC0

The "one's" digit will always be zero -- it can never be 1, or 7, or 9, or 3 ... it HAS to be zero.

Now go look at the slides.

286.67 * 1,000 = 286,671

295.27 * 1,000 = 295,271

304.13 * 1,000 = 304,129

325.78 * 1,000 = 325,783

335.56 * 1,000 = 335,557


And that's just the first slide. There are 3 more slides with the same errors. These are errors one might expect to see on the back of bar napkins, but not in formal presentations prepared for consumption by 4,200 interested pilot voters at Roadshows, and now on the internet for anyone to see. Gee, in what grade did we learn, was it 3rd or 4th, that when you multiply a number by a factor of ten, you don't change the number, you just slide the decimal point?

Now, you may be asking why I would point out such a tiny error, and what difference does it make, anyway? Good question. It's not the few dollars here or there on the slides that matters. It's the lack of attention to detail and perhaps a deficit of mathematical acumen that matters.

Remember, these are the same guys who signed the non-disclosure statements, took a look at The Company's books (or at least, the ones The Company wanted to show) and said, wow, you're right, you can't afford to improve the A Plan.

It's the same team that says 3% + 3% + 3% = 8%.


I think we could use the help of outside experts who at the very least know how to multiply by 1,000.






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