What you aren’t getting is that the “distaste for union politics” is really the underlying concern that what for all appearances, looks like a dysfunctional union, won’t be able to garner the contract we deserve and in the timeline it should happen.

Add to the fact, correct me if I’m wrong, a couple month new hire here will still be off probation at Delta before they are at United, with, some probations taking longer because Captains won’t write after-flight reports on their new hire FO’s.

Add to this, there is enough of the “screw the young guys” feel to some of the CA’s, usually very senior, that comments like, “when I started at Continental I made 25$ an hour” feel less like sharing stories and more like, “you should just shut up and be happy with what we gave you.” Granted, a lot of great CA’s, but just enough of the not so great that it concerns you that issues like ****ty reserve rules, won’t get handled in ways that support the younger folks.

All this to say, that yeah, holding a CJO at Delta, and with them appearing to have a better organized situation changes the calculus enough that a switch over absolutely makes sense. In the end, people are going to make their decision based on what they think is best. Frankly, your surprise about it is kind of surprising.