Originally Posted by
acl65pilot
I see the company not being able to do too much before SOC. Once that happens they will use each and every loop hole that they can find in LOA 19. The term "bringing us to our knees comes to mind." Yes, there are protections in the LOA, but there are also a lot of things that have been left up to interpretation.
That, said, you and I agree on the most basic point. There is nothing that will be gained by voting NO. It sends a message, but one that I am sure our buddy from Ford and Harrison already has a work around for. This added with the years of spite between us and our soon to be co-workers makes it an easy Yes vote. Good will with them in the near term will pay off dividends many times over in the long term.
I understand your point about this JPWA being about what is best for the DAL pilots and that is where we should focus with making our vote. I just see more gains by working together from day one. We all see how a two front battle is working out for our country, how do you think it will go for us fighting the NWA pilots, management, and ALPA national. I think we will have way to many issues to deal with at once. We need to pick our fights and pick them wisely. Sometimes it is better to wait to start the battle on our terms, even though we are emotionally ready to do it now.
I don't think that if this thing gets voted down, there will be a SOC. I could be wrong here. And you are correct about the company using every loophole they can find, but the fact remains that LOA19 would be in force, and the no voters seem to think they can live with that. So really it comes down to what you percieve as more gains. (personally I am on the fence as I don't really see much in the way of gains in this agreement, but I do acknowledge that it might be better to get this abortion behind us and move on) I agree with your comment about picking our battles. We'll discuss goodwill and who has it after the SLI is crammed down our collective throats, because one of the groups is not gonna be happy. Good luck finding goodwill at that point.
To paraphrase Superpilot.. we will be "locked into a box" with the ratification of this contract. Contrary to what some believe, I do not think there will be any substantial mid contract improvements... substantial being the operative word. We'll get a bone or two here and there, but nothing meaningful. We will be locked into this thing for a long long time. That is the NO vote perspective. Kumbaya is the YES perspective. I see and understand both arguments. I do feel that the YES voters are using a fear of the unknown to bolster their argument. I believe the unknown is prevalent on both sides. The problem is that voting no does nothing to rectify that problem. Neither does voting yes. Pilots by nature abhor the unknown. Tell me what's wrong with my aircraft...