Originally Posted by
Reroute
I hear ya 88 Driver, but consider the possibility that most pilots might have expressed a preference for having their IRS 415 bucket filled first. ALSO, I'm not an expert, but I think I heard once that they were able to negotiate a larger claim and note if it went in predominantly as a company contribution than as income. Something to do with company taxes I believe.
Regardless, I'm also grateful for the boost.
Looking towards the future, we need to start pulling together and sharpening our pencils for section 6 or possibly mid contract improvements if we can get some.
Reroute,
Just to be clear, I'm not saying that I would have wanted the claim and note to go into our paychecks. I like the fact that it went into our retirement accounts. That was my preference as well for that particular situation.
What I do want is for my representatives to be focused on restoration and to clearly state this as our objective. I get concerned when I see someone trying to pass off what we've gotten so far as any kind of significant progress towards that end. In the grand scheme of things, it just doesn't come anywhere close to adding up. Again, I'm glad to get whatever we can get. But not at the expense of losing focus on the really important stuff like our compensation and scope. When someone touts the note, claim, stock, and tiny pay increases from the merger as making significant progress, it tells me that they have taken their eye off the ball and, even worse, it sets the wrong tone and expectations on the part of both management and even our own pilot group. LM's most recent letter is a classic example of what I am talking about.
Getting back to the ALPA/DPA thing... IMO, this MEC better elect a Chairman that is vastly different from LM and that understands the importance of setting and communicating restoration as our objective. If they don't, my total support will be for DPA because DALPA will have conclusively proven to me that it is not capable of the necessary changes.