After initially viewing the videos and reading through the TA, I found myself disappointed. There are clear concessions regarding scope, R-24, substitution, and a number of other topics. My disappointment turned to anger…“This is the thanks I get for flying through the pandemic while my friends telecommuted, for being quarantined in hotel rooms. For showing up on time and helping to make huge profits for FedEx when others were at home asleep in their beds?”

I have always thought that pilots should not be the primary negotiators in this arena. It is simply not our forte, and these are the results…With that said it obviously benefits The Company to drag this out as long as possible. There will never be full retro pay for any additional time taken to modify the agreement, and if we reject this we will be perceived as entitled and selfish. I can see the spin now: “FedEx pilots reject $400,000/year salaries.”

Hypothetically, if there is a “No” vote where does that leave us?...A negotiating committee that must be disbanded, a Union leadership we don’t trust, and a fractured pilot group still looking at many months if not years before a new agreement can be negotiated and ratified.

A 99% strike vote surely resonated, which is a primary reason we are here. However it comes down to numbers now. The time for knee jerk reactions has passed. We had an opportunity to “strike while the iron was hot,” but is it still?…I am uncertain. What I do know is that I am tired…

At a fundamental level what is the Time Value of (your) Money? Please run the numbers in your own personalized scenario…What kind of raise two years from now would be required if this TA were to be rejected in order to offset the present value of the raise, signing bonus, and compounding interest on the compensation package as it now stands? Each of us has to remove emotion from the equation and decide for themselves what is best for their own future.

I have been struggling to understand how so many on the MEC voted to send this to us. What I am left with is that this is the best that they felt they could do….Regardless of the outcome I appreciate their efforts on our behalf.