Slow,

• How much money could Delta have saved if we simply took NWA's airplanes and flying and made their pilot group restart their careers at the employment office? ... (those concerned about political correctness can swap Delta for NWA, makes no difference, NWA could have made Delta pilots start over for the example)
• How much money did it cost to restore the longevity of NWA pilots who had lost their during furlough?
• In 2007 when Delta absorbed a few thousand ASA employees, they were allowed to keep their longevity. ALPA members (pilots) were the only employees forced to quit and re-hire at Delta, starting from scratch. Some pilots transferred into management, maintenance, training (etc) so they could keep their longevity as they came to Delta. They did not get seniority, but they kept their pay, weeks of vacation and travel pass date.
• Why are some pilots treated different than any other employees and any other pilots?

Longevity is not a reason not to pursue unity. History tells us longevity has not been a problem when management, or ALPA, wanted a merger.

To pre-empt your reply that management does not want a merger ... there are numerous answers and possibilities:

• How would we know? We never wanted a merger ... easier for us to furlough and blame Comair
• In the case of non ALPA members, we have no obligation to them at all. Just as DCI contracts are canceled and rebid now, just rebid them at mainline. ... that reduces Delta's longevity

Everything is a negotiation. My quest for an objective economic analysis is to learn as best we can where the point is hat management would want to use Delta pilots to perform Delta flying. Then the membership has a choice to make.

Or conversely (since this is how our MEC has thought in the past) if we are going to sell members' jobs, what are they worth?