Sure, Ted. Valid question.

In any negotiation (like today's), Delta is not going to agree to pay us drastically above the market in total compensation (rates, work rules, PS, retirement, etc.). Further, the NMB is going to factor all of those things when they determine the "zone of reasonableness."

It's almost as if we negotiate a big pie with the company, and we get to decide how to slice it up. The size of the pie will stay the same regardless of how we label the slices.

The idea that PS payments are somehow hidden is just not realistic. The current negotiations prove that.