Originally Posted by
MCDUie
... My fear is that we eventually get our 30 day cooling off period and around day 25 the company agrees to the last proposal. Of course we would tell them to pound sand but could the NMB park us and prevent us from striking since we already agreed to that rate? Hopefully I’m wrong, I trust our union leadership but I can see where the NMB could say we’re being unreasonable if we decline an offer in the 11th hour that ALPA previously agreed to.
Your fear is unfounded, but I empathize with your concern. "We" haven't agreed to anything. One of the points I tried to make earlier is that a Negotiating Committee does its best to represent our expectations but occasionally they present an AIP or TA to their respective group that is off the mark. Those unacceptable agreements get voted down, the commitee evolves, and negotiations resume. While it will slow down the eventual ratification process, a TA can't be forced on you (we never agreed to binding arbitration).
It seems your concern is shared by others in our pilot group. It is understandable. My experience is that we hire a considerable number of pilots that have never seen the ugly process of contract negotiations (corporate, military, or otherwise). We can help them and ourselves by maintaining an open dialog regarding the process and the responsibilities of each involved in the process. Your reps will gladly address your concerns with far more insight than this board. It is really a union members' responsibility to seek out their input and to also, more importantly, to share your expectations. If the NC "ask" doesn't satisfy our collective expectations, then we share the responsibility for that breakdown in communications and will pay the price through further delays.