In answer to the question by Eric Stratton," are they saying that they should be date of hire only?" The short answer is Yes Sort Of , in that all the past mergers at USAIR have essentially gone that way even when there were significant differences with regard to equipment size and nature and character of the flying. i.e. Piedmont. The Piedmont pilots some of whom saw the B767 come onto the property and flew it from that moment forward were a bit aghast when 5 years after the date of the merger they were blown clean off of the airplane and replaced by AAA (All American Airways) pilots who had an earlier date of hire. There is something of a sense of entitlement at USAIR East based on the past history of date of hire outweighing virtually all other considerations. Since date of hire has not trumped all other cards in this situation they are unhappy to say the least.