Originally Posted by
NuGuy
Part of the problem with TA1 was it was a sub-par rush job that embraced the “then” MEC narrative that you had to take concessions for pay (aka “unlocking value”).
Compounding that was the sell job. The then MEC (a majority, anyway) treated a very marginal agreement like it was the second coming. It only intensified as the pushback got stronger. After the 117 LOA, pilots’ radar was up and most were paying attention, and when the PR campaign intensified, people starting smelling the BS from the nature of the sell job alone.
The combination of the rushed agreement, toxic individual issues, and the over-the-top sell job was surprisingly amateur hour for an MEC that was, in theory, guided by some of the “smartest men in the room” and shows what happens to people when they fall prey to believing their own press.
Everything you wrote was spot on. However, I don't get the "after the 117 LOA, pilots' radar was up" comment. Despite MD being the MEC Chair when TA1 was being pushed, then rejected (and he then resigned), he was also the chair when we inked the 117 LOA, as far as I am concerned,
the single greatest agreement we have ever reached with the company (perhaps LOA 20-04 is better) in terms of favorable impacts to our careers. 5.15 ADG,
which also applied to reserves was the best thing...ever. Reserve work rules prior to that were so absymal that anyone bidding reserve on purpose should have been sent for evaluation.
So many thousands of Delta pilots have had their work lives significantly improved since then, and presumably in perpetuity. Few even realize it, and due to the sub-par TA1, and very unwise chanting of "PEB!" when pressed about it, MD gets a lot of grief. It is/was in fact warranted, but he also deserves credit where it is due.