If we had theoretically settled for 10/3/3/3 in Jan 2019 (and the wailing and gnashing of teeth would have been frequent and loud), a 320A currently making 285 an hr would be 342 an hr Jan 23...and you would have received that extra coin (and DC contributions) for the past three years...AND we'd be talking about the next round of the contract anyway! Of course Covid etc skews all that talk.

"But we'll accept nothing less than full retro!" you say. Maybe. Hopefully. Anything less encourages mgmt dragging this process out, and they do. But I'm not sure if it's going to happen. The longer the process takes the harder it'll be to achieve.

I DO agree that we need to rethink our priorities at the table. Getting automatic inflation adjusted pay rates past any amendable date is crucial for any future agreement. We (myself included) have never truly comprehended how hamstrung labor is by the RLA. Maybe mgmt themselves didn't really realize it until lately either. Either way they are gleefully taking advantage of how much they can drag out the process, knowing that the threat of self help is distant, even years after an amendable date.