Originally Posted by
hummingbear
The old “unicorns & rainbows” phrase is a hackneyed straw man that’s been overused to shut down anyone who advocates turning down a present deal for something more. Before TUMI got shut down, there were a lot of people using that same attack against those who spoke out against it. They found themselves on the wrong side of history in a matter of weeks, not months or years. “Money on the table” isn’t always the right choice & it isn’t always the wrong choice- It’s all about circumstances & context.
Having said all that, I think you’re smoking crack if you think Delta’s TA wouldn’t pass here by a lot. I’d have to run numbers as I’m far from an expert on their contract, but if it were a true Delta match (reserve rules, vacation, profit sharing, etc.) I’d probably be inclined to vote for it myself.
Very minor note. Our profit sharing is virtually identical to Delta's. The reason we get less is not because of the difference in how profit sharing is calculated but rather in how much profit Delta has earned in the past compared to United. Delta gets 10% of the profit upto $2.5 billion and 20% after. We get 10% of profit on all profit that is 6.9% or less profit margin and 20% after. In recent years 6.9% profit margin has been roughly $2.5 billion. Now going forward as inflation raises the absolute numbers of revenue this may become a bigger issue, but so far it's been about Delta's superior profitability and not the profit sharing.
Also, prior to this TA our vacation was virtually identical over an entire career. You see Delta got slightly more credit per day, but United has several jumps in the number of days that put total days higher than a comparable Delta seniority pilot. Some decades it's even, but then some decades it's not. When you add up the time paid over a 30 year career it's virtually identical.
I'm also a bit confused by your post. You're on record saying a 13/5/5/5 offer should get the MEC recalled again, but in the above post you say you would probably vote yes on a TA that matches Delta. So, are you saying you'd vote yes only if the offer was 18/5/5/5 putting our pay rates 5% above Delta's or would you accept a contract with equal pay rates if all the other items were equal because it seems to me having pay rates 5% above Delta is not matching but exceeding . . . by a lot.
Finally, not sure what you mean by me smokin' crack thinking UAL wouldn't vote in a Delta like TA. I'm on record saying exactly that. I believe we WILL see a TA almost identical to the AIP at Delta, and I believe the pilots of UAL will vote yes. BUT . . . I think there is a chance that the negative sentiment could be so loud towards ANY offer the company makes that the current MEC might actually not let it go out to vote, so the entire point here is maybe we should look at the Delta offer as a win for everybody and NOT be encouraging our leadership to reject the next offer out of hand if it doesn't meet some single target like 18/5/5/5 or whatever.