You learn it by screwing it up.

Well actually, thats PBS.

For AE, you seriously need to go to deltapilots.org > Committees > Contract Administration > Contract Awarness Bulletins (under Committees Category in the blue box on the left side of the screen).

Start with CA Bulletin 09-12. Its 1100 pages. Download it and save it. Its the best thing I've found to date and it was well done, although it needs an update on the MOUs and LOAs. I talked to the Captain in charge of this, he said he wanted a single source with all of the documents you needed in one place and thats what it is. You can keyword search and learn a lot.

The first section is the get to "Know Your Contract" and its a laymens review of all 28 sections of the pilot working agreement. The PWA is also in this document so while looking at one of the reviews you'll notice it links to the document. Click on it and it'll take you to the source, the PWA, and you can read it for yourself. Before you read it wrong, or have a creative interpretation go further into that PDF and look at the TWG Notepad. It'll help you understand it even better and it is also linked to in the "Know Your Contract" stuff.

This is what's in it:
-Know Your Contract, Section 1-28
-Pilot Working Agreement
-Scheduling Alert Compilation
-When Scheduling Calls (you need that in your flight kit)
-PBS Refernece documents (go there before your first bid and after you screw up your first bid)
-Reserve Reference documents
-Other Reference documents
-Contract Awareness Bulletins: protect your rights, 76-seat grievance settlement, contract provisions implementation for DALN pilots.
-TWG Notepads (THESE ARE GREAT), they give the best understanding you'll find anywhere, thanks to the merger, of sick leave, deadheads, average line values, reserve rules, PCS system and swap board, personal drops, reroute and recovery obligations, training scheduling, and last but not least, Filing of Vacancies which is otherwise known as the mysterious AE, VD and MD.