Funny thing is that it is not a hit for one part of the list or another. It just take the static percentage bumps that we negotiate ( 5,4,4,4) and p lowers them to a 2-4% bump per year that a PWA is non-amendable and adds a COLA on top of it.

It sounds very scary to some that they do not know the exact percentage they will get each year, but one must remember that your buying power, which is really what matters, stays constant. That is what matters. If I had the time I would look at the PWA's from the 80's forward. Everyone benchmarks C2K but you need to realize that it was a home run that really was making up for previous prolonged section six negotiations.

Even in the last downturn COLA was Zero. We have not had deflation for a very long time. Government will do anything they can to keep inflation positive. (Makes paying back the debt easier since today's dollars are worth less than last years)

I admit it is a change in thinking, but it is one that keeps each position at the same buying power Y-O-Y with a rational few percentage points like we are seeing now. Putting a COLA rider after the amendable date takes many of the advantage away from the company for prolonged section six talks. It also take the Associations constant need for large gains and rationalizes them. In plain English, it means the members are able to buy the same stuff year over year, so there is less pressure on the administration to keep kitting those long balls.

Just a though that I have put much though in to.