We received two costing estimates from ALPA E&FA during my term. The first one was presented in December of 2019, at the conclusion of the Protocol Agreement signed in April of that year, and the number was high enough for Jim Graham to take one look at it and immediately take a favorable view of mediation. The second full costing estimate was presented in December of 2021, and the number was naturally higher, because of the basic passage of time, plus the fact that direction in Section 6 hadn't changed in more than a year.

Any MEC has two choices for the strategy they use in crafting an opener. They can "stick to their guns" by crafting proposals on the basis of market influence and the vulnerabilities of the other side designed to survive first contact with the NMB, or they can "shoot for the moon" with a two-step process of making high-cost initial proposals with the intention of retreating to more reasonable positions later in the process. The Delta MEC at the time adopted the second strategy. I have no idea if they have made inroads towards the second step of "shoot for the moon," but the recent Policy Manual change concerning retro pay makes me suspect that they haven't.

I think we're stuck on the moon, and one-third of the MEC can now stop any deal from going to the pilots.