From the Con letter.
From 1979 (after deregulation) to 2002 (prior to bankruptcy) the average yearly cost of the pilots to United Airlines as a percentage of company revenue was 10.85%. Today we find ourselves at 7.5%.
2014 revenue = $38.9 billion
Current cost of pilots to company = $2.92 billion/year
Average cost of pilots to company @ 10.85% = $4.22 billion/year
This equates to an average deficit of $1.3 billion/year in wages and benefits to our pilot group. The TA sent to you is valued at just under $400 million/year.
Not only does the TA come up short of your expectations and direction, but also it fails miserably on the merits of total value. It is reasonable for us to expect more from any deal today. On value alone, the DAL opener stands hundreds of millions of dollars more per year above our TA. Clearly, the new leadership at DAL ALPA understands the leverage we have and how the positive confluence of events has provided us a very strong hand.
This TA does not bring enough value for the amount of leverage we are giving up. You deserve better. The deal was rushed; money was left on the table, and it fails to bring any QOL improvements or capture any additional jobs (an aircraft order). Today, with a single and unified pilot group and the current negotiating environment, our leverage is the strongest. We are recommending a resounding NO VOTE to this TA.