And you were right. If I thought we had a chance of stopping it, I would have voted no too. But we didn't. The APA was going down this road with or without us. Absent our yes vote, we would have been just tagging along behind on LOA 93, until we had a JCBA, that would give us that they said anyway!

There was one thing that I thought we had in our favor-code share restrictions. That almost had me voting no, but I had no faith that we could pull it off.

 

I do think it looks good for the future- wishful thinking I guess. My kids are too old to get into the business and the grand kids too young but even after all that took place, if I had a 20 something, I 'd sure encourage it- And this after a decade of saying, "Do not get into aviation."
But please know that Parker will keep this contract until he needs something and the RLA is his friend.

 

I'm not trying to change your mind. I think most have already made their minds up, anyway. Considering the 10,000 pilots of LAA though, I think there's more anger and thus more emotion then 2 pilot groups that have been beaten-down and softened over a decade has and that may be the majority. I've read the MOU too and disagree.

As for "media articles", well...............it's RARE to find those that aren't pro-business and only see an anti-union "greed" angle. If this offer AS IS comes to you, I think you SHOULD vote yes. You're obviously in a peaceful place and have rationalized your decision. In 11-13 years we can look back and add up how much we've lost over the years compared to many of our competitors and decide then if it was worth it.

11-13 years of blissful peace isn't such a bad thing.

 

That pay raise is pretty easy to figure. I guess DL or UA could get a raise and a bump it a little, but I think it's pretty close to what was in the MOU sales literature.

What scares me is when I read on C&R "Let's just go to arbitration and we will get credit for Delta's profit sharing!" We won't.

I'm okay with going to arbitration is we have to, but so many guys don't understand what the really means.

 

And that anger sure showed results in the MOU!

I think you guys think that your slow down with Horton will be the same with Parker. I don't think so.

 

Horton would have gotten FAR, FAR, more then that had he stayed at the helm. He got pushed aside and that was a crushing blow to his ego.

How much is Parker making this year and in the years to come ?

20 million (taxed) is chump change (along with a "failure" tag on his toe).

 

Plus I don't know why everybody keeps talking like Delta is the only group in the MOU designated average

 

Ah. I see. Well then, clearly you guys are the big winners! Sweet! "ESAD, Tom Horton!! We showed you!" At least we have that....

 

This is a poop fight of magnificent proportions.

• APA would have accepted ANYTHING to get Horton gone and bought into Parker's line of BS. Now we have the lousiest MOU imaginable and we're badly over a barrel to improve it.
• The upper seniority East pilots are blaming AA for accepting such a poor agreement even though they would happily have operated under a bankruptcy contract indefinitely because doing so held the Nic at bay. However, management was thanking them with all growth and new-hires.
• The lower seniority East pilots are stuck in the middle of the East/West fight and are getting arrows thrown at them from both directions.
• The West would have voted to merge with Satan's army if doing so would have caused the East to be out numbered and force USAPA off the property. Now they're discovering they voted the last good QOL items in their contract right down the crapper.

This group needs to figure out a way to get some unity and figure it out quick. The company must be savoring the possibility of all out war within the ranks because it gives them the same type of East/West cost benefit that allowed them to control the largest airline in the world.
There are some pilots who post here I have considerable respect for (regardless of AA, US, or AW). There are some I don't agree with. And some of them I think are complete morons (they probably think the same about me). HOWEVER...The past is history. We can't change it. We need to suck it up, start holding hand, and singing some freaking kumbaya or we are destined to be trapped in this crap sandwich for a long, LONG time to come.

 

For the record, I have not advocated any illegal job actions here as a two pilots from the East apparently claim or infer. I've simply stated what I think the ultimate result will be for Parker's decision to treat the pilots like Horton did, i.e., the "old" AA being the result. That wasn't a truly competitive carrier and its product was considered inferior to many. That was due in a large part to poor management-labor relations and it seems clear that poor management-labor relations will continue, if not intensify at AA in the future.

Anyone who can spin that as a positive (or even a neutral), is misguided IMO. If anything, it's at least valuable to know many in the East have no intention of becoming part of a unified group as clearly there is just too much hostility toward APA (and the SLI will only intensify that). I think as a future single group, it's important to take stock of ourselves and honestly and objectively look at what we are. Thankfully, in 2025 most of the fragmented pilots will have retired and perhaps then we will be more cohesive to obtain the respect, compensation and working conditions that the premier industry competitive carriers pilots have.

Until then (agreement or not), we should accept the fact we are a financially inferior pilot group, hopelessly fragmented and thus essentially irrelevant.