(Too late to edit my previous post to add...)

At the risk of stating the very obvious, there's a negotiating psychology aspect to this. By dragging it out so long, the company hopes that by the time we get to the real fight everyone is so worn out from the run-up that they just want to get the thing done.

I'm starting to think of this negotiation as a triathlon. We've done the swim and the bike, now it's time for the run.

You might say - wait, I just swam 2.5 miles, then rode my bike 100 miles and you're telling me that was all just to get to the starting line of a ğcking marathon? Well, yes, maybe so. The sooner we as a pilot group come to grips with that the better.