There's a model in behavioral psychology called "The Elephant and The Rider." I think it speaks to our current contract impasse. Here's a very short video primer:

The Elephant and The Rider

Speaking from a pilot's perspective, the airline can come at me with all the "Rider" stuff in the world: graphs and charts showing total compensation under a new contract as compared to our current contract, arguments about TVM, etc. However, the "Elephant" sees the "Officers Eat First" change to our profit sharing calculation and plants his feet.

I think the airline could get a lot of what it wants if only it fed the elephant. By putting all its resources into the rider, it's missing out on an opportunity to make a deal that we all could live with.