Originally Posted by Timbo

Any 'trade' of profit sharing for pay rates is really a double hit for the pilots.

How?

Here's how: Let's say the company is going to make $8 Billion for the year (just spit balling here for the math).

Let's say we traded a 20% raise, for the same amount of profit sharing, 20%. Let's say that 20% in money is $1 Billion (again, just picking numbers for the math).

Ok, what just happened to the $8 Billion profit?

Well, now it's not going to be $8 Billion, only $7 Billion, because $1 Billion of it just went to fund our pay raise.

So now, we have cut our profit sharing, TWICE!

We traded away the 20% for the same amount in pay, but now any remaining profit sharing will be calculated on $1 Billion LESS in profits.

Just like when the company gave all the other employees a 14.5% raise, AND cut their profit sharing, those employees PS will actually take a double cut, less profits going forward, and they set the bar for receiving any additional profit sharing much higher.

OK, now step back and look at the big picture. Why does the company want to change/rescind our PS?

It's NOT because they think profits are going to be LESS, is it? Heck no, they know the fleet plan, they've done the math going forward, they have much better projections than anything the ALPA Economic and Financial Analysis guys can come up with.

They see where their emerging markets are, and they are not going to tell us what their long term plans are, but I can bet it's not to lose money, it's to outsource as much of our International flying to as many partially owned JV Partners as possible. The only way you and I will ever benefit from all the upcoming JV growth is through profit sharing. Once we trade that for a one time pay raise, we are screwed 3 years from now when we have to negotiate the next contract.

We keep trading away concessions for pay raises, pretty soon we'll have nothing left to trade!

Then what?