Has anybody ever heard...."I never thought they would do that"?

The contract is always in a state of flux when negotiations arise. Sometimes the company utters those words.... sometimes we do. Things like scheduling and trip pairings have a wide latitude of unintended consequences.

Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. The argument that, " We had that a previious airline" holds no water, because there are way too many variables.

JMHO