Originally Posted by
reddog25
Thanks for the correctiuon. Had my time line off. Point was pattern bargaining works, and it worked because one airline (NWA) had the gonads to go on strike in 1998.
If you aren't willing to pull the trigger, the bar will never be moved upwards. Keep that in mind as we approach 2012
While your strike was an honorable one, it in my view wasn't the key factor in other airlines achieving pattern gains. The airlines were generating huge free cash from 1996-2000. When there's more pie, there's more for everyone.
Please show me an example of a "successful" post deregulation strike against an employer with poor free cash flow. All the strikes that I've researched that "worked" (NWA ALPA, IPA sympathy, Amerijet et. al.) were against companies that were making money. Some other strikes against companies making money only rearranged the deck chairs of the pre-strike offer on the table or not making enough gains above that offer to pay for the time spent out(CMR), so both management and the union "lost".
Strike is a tool, not a strategy. It should be entered into with methodical thought, not just gonads.