Originally Posted by
jethikoki
You mean like the help COMAIR had? I do not agree with their methods or what they were trying to do but I think any trust was lost on both sides and the bitterness still remains.
Since it appears you have taken it upon yourself to be he answerman at the moment then why was it necessary for DAL MEC to promote changes to ALPA's merger policy before a buyout of COMAIR? Except for greed why is it necessary to have separate systems for literally the same job? If you truly believe in protecting DAL brand then how can it only be protected at one level?
If you had read anything about aviation history and Flying The Line one has to wonder for those that did all the hard work in the beginnings of our airline industry to help their fellow airmen and sacrifices they made, if our current system would meet their approval or an abomination. I think its closer to the latter.
The language was changed to prevent the possibility of the very same land grab that was being attempted. Had they not changed the language, and the PID was approved, the DL pilots would then have been in the position of binding arbitration where anything can happen. A staple would have been the floor, DOH the ceiling, and anything in between possible.
That risk could have been taken off the table before it even became an issue if the CMR/ASA MEC's had agreed up front that a staple would have been the absolute high water mark, but they refused to precisely because they wanted to take a moon shot. They were convinced that their PID acceptance was mandatory and once initiated, they would have a guaranteed SLI on the way anywhere along the staple-DOH continuum. Because of their greed (as you put it) the entire process was poisoned from the very beginning. They have absolutely no moral leg to stand on. They saw an opportunity for a windfall and took it over and above the unionism they were preaching.
Of course the "giants" upon whose "shoulders we stand" wouldn't like the current state of things relative to this issue. There's been tactical missteps and egos on all sides. But the regionals absolutely have to own their share of it, and the PID attempt in 2000 was completely mishandled on their end out of sheer arrogance and greed.