Originally Posted by
Sink r8
Fair enough. The company needs to move more, and they're not jumping in with both feet, are they? I think they can definitely write a much bigger. Twhree reasons they don't: 1) they don't really have to yet, 2) time works in their favor, and 3) they have no assurances that the bigger check yields certainty of outcome anyway.
If the 12 didn't completely freeze up for three weeks before the soft park, they could have gotten more. If you can get 15-17 guys out of 19 send the NC in, saying 18/5/5, no PS changes, a little of this, a little of that, and we'll actually stand behind the TA, and sell you three years of bliss, I think the company would do it. Our problem is that we can't actually work together. You figure that with the 15-16 the 12 have, there would never have been an issue, yet here we are. All of it self-inflicted, none of it making sense.
So, yes, I agree that the company needs to come up more. I assume they're going to convince the mediator they're ready to continue serious negotiations, make serious movement.
Are we?
To any extent that any of us line pukes can say we are, I think the main issue, once again, isn't the lack of compensation but rather the presence of concessions. I think the company is just too greedy. While IMO the pay proposal isn't enough, they just doubled down with poison pills like the 4% (or so) hit from the loss of DC and especially the unlimited potential hit from their disgusting "officer's eat first" clause. That has to go, or at the very least have limits set to it so we can (at the very least) see what the maximum damage could be from it.
Vacation seems to be another stick in the eye with the whole re-warming of the pathetic "pay no credit" clause. That's a non starter for that section, and they're sticking to it by all indications.
They want even more large RJ's? Are you kidding me? Really? Will there ever be a contract where they don't "need" more DC-9-10 replacement jets at the outsource providers? At some point either we have to wait for them to stop asking, or we have to stand up and say you know what, you already have WAY more than enough. I think its that time.
It would be one thing if they were proposing real, meaningful and substantial GAINS to all sections, but just a little shy on the rates. I don't think that's where we are though, or the board wouldn't have said we were so far apart. I think Ed has called in his union busting advisors and Ron Allen-esque pilot hating mafia because he thinks we're so desperate for a nominal rate increase that we'll take anything. Buzz's little self immolating deep throat martyr tantrum has likely only emboldened Ed's resolve to basically screw us because he thinks he can.
I understand TVM, and small ball and moving the ball and all the sports analogies etc. We're not headed down the road to a strike that could liquidate the airline over a couple percent in rates. But we may be over their ridiculous insistence on across the board (and never ending) concessions and selling of jobs. If there was ever a time to stand up to that nonsense and say no, this is that time. We've already given them their number one item and they said thank you very much and spiked the football in our faces and dabbed on us. Enough.