We can ask for anything we want. Asking and achieving are two different things. Historically the key to success under the RLA has been bringing your peers up with you. That moves the ZOR up. A rising tide lifts all boats. It’s interesting that the forum has hundreds if not thousands of posts about what we are owed, demand, want and need but virtually zero posts on how to achieve those goals. I don’t really know what our current strategy and table positions are but I do know within a narrow window what our opener was. The opener doomed us to failure. The architects of the opener were advised that it was a bad strategy but failed to head the warnings or study what worked in the past.
The problem now is the MEC has painted itself into a corner. The MEC has set the bar for what is ratifiable and it’s way higher than they can actually deliver. The out is to wait until American and United produce a contract and then blame them for failing to raise the bar when they produce a TA that’s a sliver of the opener. The funny part is we had lots of posts back in 2019 about waiting as long as it takes to get the right contract. Now you see post after post about inflation and time. Table positions at American and United have been mostly publicly defined. If you want a dose of reality look them over.
The question becomes what is really the goal. Is it the best possible contract that can be achieved or to pound your chest and scream?