Originally Posted by
TillerEnvy
Seriously MD? Are you ever gonna ever change your tune? I honestly haven't flown with or talked with one other RAH pilot who thinks that there should be a staple below us as you basically say above. It's getting really old...stop the labeling crap and try to be productive with the talks. It's going to arbitration and it'll lie where it lies.
I didn't get the tone of a staple, but one that RAH pilots have expressed, which is something along the lines of entitlement because they are the acquiring party. When SWA offered a staple for seniority, pay protection, base and seat protection for the period of the Airbus drawdown, and longevity credit, SWAPA was told they were crazy and negotiations ceased. RAH pilots had statements that Frontier pilots deserved better and would be backed by the RAH pilots to preserve what they had earned. Since the deal has gone through, the RAH pilots have slowly changed their tune to one that they feel they deserve a "slice of the pie" since they bought a BK airline.
Now with regards to mediation...I wonder how long this will drag out. I can't see a 10 minute meeting with the mediator throwing their hands in the air and say "Go to arbitration!". The mediator is there to make things work. If all the parties know in advance that they prefer arbitration, then agree to it now instead of bogging down the inevitable. If a party prefers mediation, then it means they usually have something to gain over arbitration.
So...although there is a lot of emotion tied to all this, I've seen a lot of good facts. Every side thinks they have a better case. Each pilot group has their own experiences and it would be foolish for one group to assume they know the situation and past of the others. If this is all doomed to arbitration, then just make it happen so things can move forward.