Originally Posted by wjcandee

Well, we disagree about a lot of what you said. I don't see you or I to be a victim of The Man or The System. Rather than be a Social Justice Warrior decrying the system, I would rather work the system -- really any set of rules that applies to me -- in a way that puts the most money in my pocket. Start worrying about showing The Man that you're a man, too, and you will waste a lot of time on things that have nothing to do with compensation.

A scorched-earth policy sounds nice when politically grandstanding, but it costs the members a lot of money and actually delays an outcome, which means that people go a long time at one pay rate when they could be making more money at a pay/rules rate that is not optimal but higher. In my opinion, the more-quickly contracts get turned, across more airlines, the more $$ in members' pockets. Get the deal done, take more compensation, then set up for the next one, while your brethren do the same, thus helping to advance you. I think it plays into management's hands to constantly be at war, but it creates a context for leaders to hold their positions and try to unify troops -- and to shout down differing beliefs. It has been so since the time of Sun Tzu, and certainly Brave New World.

I think better to get the agreement done, spend the lawyer money on wording the contract correctly, and enforce the crystal clear contract provisions through the grievance process. Meanwhile, start working on the next contract.

You can feel free to disagree about strategy, of course. Mine is just an opinion. But I'll bet it's one that's shared among some of the quieter members of your pilot group.