Originally Posted by
Free Bird
Despite giving mother Delta a joint contract on a silver platter that included a ridiculous amount of 70+ seat RJ's, many of us MD 88 drivers are STILL paid almost exactly what our AMR peers make after all of our raises. Many Delta pilots that I fly with and know, feel that we left some low hanging fruit on the tree with the Joint Contract. Yes, a majority of the Delta pilots voted for the JC, there are however many that feel DALPA had leverage because of mngt's need to get the merger done and we gave that away.
There is a group of FO's that after a 5 year furlough came back to see ALPA back the age 65 rule. That alone is enough for me to at least take a look at other options when it comes to our representation. Now throw in ALPA's backing of the 500 hr rule, it's a no brainer imo, our best interest are not being represented. After what many Delta pilots have been through I don't think it should come as a surprise to anyone that many of us would consider making a change.
You do know that management had the right to merge the airlines and not even tell us about until we saw it on CNN? Right, you have read our contract and see the section where management is explicitly given the right to merge the carriers with no contractual changes from us? Please tell me that you have read that?
That is what happened when we merged with Western, that is what happened when NW merged with Republic, and that is what happened in all the other mergers so far. So the only leverage that we had in this merger is leverage that we created out of thin air. Management had the right to tell us to stay in our old contract, give us no stock, and then merge anyway. It would have slowed down the process, but it would have happened with us or without us. So it is pretty funny that you claim we passed up leverage when we totally created every ounce of our leverage from nothing.
What do you think would have happened if ALPA did not get involved in the age 65 legislation? You do know that the original legislation gave recently retired pilots the right to come back to their airline with their original seniority number, right? What would that have done to you and your buddies?
So go ahead and consider your other options. I am really at the point where I would like to see the nuts take over the nuthouse and then watch as they crash spectacularly, just like they did over at the APA. Maybe you think it will help your career to have your negotiations sidelined for four years while these guys thump their chests and bang their heads on brick walls. Every one of the crack pot theories that the web board warriors espouse here has been tried in the past and they all fail. Negotiations are a business transaction and not a male organ measuring contest. Navigating through a complicated business transaction takes experience, hard work, and tremendous stress. Shouting, posturing, and demagoguery will only get you a trip to the parking lot, where the NMB will wait until you are ready to complete a business transaction. But go ahead, try it out, I am sure it will work this time.