Contract reminders
You cannot ignore what happened in 2015 and previous years, period. Lessons have to be learned from those negotiations and illumination of that process will best serve you as you prepare for next CBA.
The facts are these, you have to hold the Union Leadership feet to the fire, don't accept anything less than what you as a group deserve because this company makes a lot of $$$ despite the poor mouthing that always goes on during negotiations.
If you feel that your voice is not being heard by Union representatives, get them fired and replace them immediately.
In the past there was much $$$ spent by Union leadership at the cost of the membership. You pay them a pretty nice price to keep your jobs secure and you get to enjoy an A plan that the rest of the company employees lost years ago because they were too ignorant to realize that the company would put the weenie to them when it wanted to. The company not only makes a nice profit, they make money off the employee groups as well, that is a fact.
So don't make statements here about disregarding the past, there are painful and important lessons going forward lest you decide to be the ignoramus and press without knowledge of what you are dealing with. Having been there and done that and got several T shirts out of it, I can speak from my own experience .........................