How the Railway Labor Act works is well defined; what people call it may differ however. We have been in direct negotiations since our union and the company exchanged Section 6 notices at the amendable date. What flavor the negotiations take is entirely up to the parties. They made it pretty clear on the conference call that both sides decided to entertain targeted, nonprejudicial negotiations. Under standard Section 6 negotiations, the parties normally hammer out agreements on individual sections and put them in the done pile. All of this is documented to nth degree and part of the record. Once a section is TA'd it isn't reopened willy nilly, else you'd never get to the end if everything was always still on the table. Yes, some sections of the contract are often interrelated and are tied together, weighing gains and losses in them jointly, think pay and scheduling.

They explained on the conference call that since the company's offer was so far from the intent of the targeted negotiations that rather than be strung along with lowball (perhaps delay tactics) offers, it was in our interest to revert to the standard section 6 methodology and get sections TA'd and on the record. They left the door open to entertain new targeted offers if the company wanted to bring forth reasonable offers.

Although the NC referred to upcoming negotiations as section 6, they were referring to the standard process vs. the targeted nonprejudicial process they had been using.

Whether or not you approve of the NC is entirely up to you, but in this instance you were not lied to. Replacing the NC is no small undertaking. Their job isn't sitting at a table and pounding fists until the company drops a bag of money at our feet. There is a lot of history and experience involved with that job that isn't replaced with a round of training at alpa. The NC takes marching orders from your reps; they don't negotiate a contract to their own whims. If you want change to their direction, get your rep to do it or change your rep! If you're still hellbent on new blood, consider the alternative of adding additional members to the committee. To drop kick the NC is perhaps a little short sighted. Remember where all the power lies in your union, the elected reps. They alone set the direction and goals of the NC.

My survey:
- Industry standard at DOS
- Retro to Aug 2015
- Transition stays w pay protection, tweaked to no less than 4 off as a giveback perhaps
- Defined contribution 10% DOS increasing yoy
- 2% or COLA (if higher) raise for every year after new contract amendable date, DOS+5 and beyond
- industry leading merger and scope (if the company is so sure a merger is not on the table then this should be a zero cost item for them)

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