Hmmm,
I don't think it's so much a lack of trust as the Company doesn't want to do the pilots any favors. The Company is OK with the current circumstances and doesn't want to fork over any $$$ for something that will eventually happen, or hamper the manning model.

Why give a pilot $$$ to retire early when it will happen eventually? Guys going out earlier than they have to with a bonus and a pension multiplier has a cost associated with it and the company isn't willing to pay that cost.
Let a pilot work to 65+ and the pension plan is stronger thanks to the additional time the investments have to compound combined with the reduced duration of payments out of the plan.

Why publish No Fly lines? That's intentionally doing a pilot a favor. Yes, they would be at the exact min BLG. And Yes, they are essentially the same as a Senior Pilot's reserve utilization rate. But, again, doing a pilot a favor.

Why restrict the amount of CO some pilots do by a mandatory min days off requirement? The Company likes having pilots work an additional 2-7 days at straight time. It does minimize the total compensation the company is required to pay. It's not just salary, but, all of the other benefits that we receive-health insurance, life insurance, LTD, A plan, B plan. All of those expenses are minimized by preventing a monthly hours cap some other airlines have.

Why would the company want to eliminate the option to canx vacation? The company wants to buy back vacation, except for that last year prior to retirement. The company doesn't want you to actually use all of your vacation, just as the company doesn't want you to actually use your sick leave. It's lost productivity--even during a period of time when reserve utilization is historically low.

The company didn't have to let the R day value drop so low. The contract specifies a maximum number of R days, not a minimum. The company could have done the "right" thing and reduced the number of days a reserve pilot (and instructor) were scheduled to work commensurate with the reduced BLG.
But, they didn't. That would be doing a pilot a favor.


Some folks lose track of what a union can and can't do. The union is primarily there to negotiate a contract and protect the contract. The union is not an active member of the board and we can't keep the company from doing stupid stuff. WE don't get a vote in how the company decides to man the property. WE get a small vote in how the company elects to schedule flying, but, there are enough independent contractors that the small vote gets vetoed by our fellow pilots hopping into the lukewarm pot of water.

If WE want to tell the company how to run things, then all WE have to do is buy enough stock and we will have change we can believe in