I'm new to the company and union/company politics and I voted in favor of the LOA. I considered both the union and company points of view and spent a lot of time thinking about my vote. I talked to many of my captains and they too were leaning toward voting yes. I was on the fence for quite some time, but I voted yes because of the strong union backing and I trusted their informed opinions. After all I give them almost 2% of my pay to do the research and negociations so I don't have to.

In hindsight, I should have voted no. We did not have accurate and realistic information on the cost of housing and other living expenses in the FDAs. This is basic stuff that we should assume our union is doing. If we don't have the expertise within our ranks then we should contract to research out to an outside firm. In my opinion the union should have spent the time and money to get us this vital information before the measure was introduced to the pilot force. That is what we pay them for.

At least I have learned a good lesson about the union, company and negociations and will make a more informed vote next time. Kind of like the lesson I learned in PVG about tea with the locals who want to practice English!