Originally Posted by
Carl Spackler
The other MISERABLE failure was to accept the first offer in BK. The NWA flight attendants refused the first 3 BK contracts until they got one they thought they could barely live with. The NWA flight attendants were willing to risk having a contract imposed on them, and live with it until the company emerged from BK. At which time their imposed contract immediately expired. They were willing to take that risk. Ultimately, the company was not and upped the ante 3 additional times to entice the FA's to sign a contract that was not imposed.
Hawaiin Airlines pilots also turned down their TA in BK. They were not scared of living under an imposed contract for the same reason as our FA's. Hawaiin pilots got significant increases in all areas in their second TA...which they ultimately signed.
Both NWA and DAL pilots...signed the very first offer that came down from management and the judge. No snapbacks, no nothing. Just signed it.
Carl
Carl,
With all due respect, while I can't comment on the Hawaiian Airline's situation or NWA's financial position in BK, DAL came dangerously close, and by that I recall it was measured in days not weeks or months of running out of operating cash and liquidating. The company was frightened of the pilots back then and the union had the inside knowledge of the precarious financial position of the company. We were at the abyss, stared at it, and it stared back at us.
I hate that we lost the pensions and others kept theirs. I hate that we had to take a second round of paycuts. But neither you, nor I, were at the table when this was going down. But those that I knew who were at the table painted a very, very bleak picture of what could have happened with certain creditors had we just "voted down" the TA to see what we could have gotten better. There may not have been enough time to see what was behind door number 2.