Technically ALPA dug a hole (& we all jumped in) when agreeing to an LOA with a 5% increase in the middle of Section 6 negotiations. That was far more regrettable than accepting said 5% early, & was destined to complicate contract negotiations from day 1.

Before the 5% was applied the company tried to bury it into TUMI 1, & some early advocates were totally buying into it. Now that the 5% is already applied, they’ll try to focus on comparing rates to other carriers rather than percentages against inflation in an attempt to blur the separation between our LOA & Section 6 raises & I assume there are those that will fall for that smoke & mirror show as well.

That’s why I didn’t personally have a problem w/ getting the 5% early. The company will try to control the narrative either way. We as a group were dumb enough to vote for that LOA, so I don’t know which we’re more likely to fall for. For my part I’ll take the 5% & be savvy enough not to take any LOA money into account when I vote on TUMI 3.