Just reviewed the union's pro and con regarding the TA. Thought I'd highlight the good, the bad and the ugly regarding current thinking.

The Good

Income progression (or better said, lack of regression). as pointed out in the video presented by John Gustafson, if we wait, we need a greater raise in the future to maintain the status quo. Six months from now, it would take a 4 1/2 % raise and 3% lump sum to equal what would get signing today. Probably the strongest point to sign now. Ask yourself, "if the same deal was offered (later) with 4 1/2% and more bonus love, would you bite??"

Improvement for FDA's Is this for us or them?? Well if you live in HKG or would move to either the CGN or the HKG base, this is a major plus.

Safety. Company agreed to non disciplinary for industry standard disclosures. Good for us and good for FedEx. Why has it taken this TA to get it?? Why are we negotiating for safety??

Other good. Some administrative improvements for pay and working for the union. Incorporation of prior settlement agreements. All good, none so great as to make you sleep better tonight knowing its in the contract. All other "improvements", while good, can hardly be considered, major, at least relative to bread and butter issues and QOL issues.

No major givebacks. Who would have thought of this as a major advantage to signing. Mentioned as an plus by some. Says a lot when not giving up stuff is moving forward.


The Bad

Pay raise. None, CPI only. (We) solve a major issue for the company and several smaller ones with no improvement in income, just keeping up with inflation.

Pre diem. Another bit of a joke, similar to the last contract. Token improvement. No meaningful increase, further degrade, relative to inflation. No attempt to put us on par with UPS's superior rates for international.

4a2b. Slight fix (I think), no major fix. Probably a non issue until we negotiate our next agreement, but for those who were affected the most, a major sore point.

Quality of flying with new and expanded FDA's. Affects different populations (in the crew force) depending on what you bid and prefer to fly. I think a HKG base for the MD will fundamentally change the intl flying that is US based. Is that good for us? for you personally? for FedEx? Only one resounding yes, and you can guess who.

Retirement. No change. I hadn't even thought of it until Fox Hunter brought it up about the lack of improvement in the 260K cap. Its been static for 10 years and incomes (inflation) have gone up. Not an issue with the 4a2b crowd, but affecting the ND's near term and every one eventually.

The Ugly

The loss of what we perceive as our bargaining chip. These improvements to the FDA's were on the companies wish list, certainly more than ours. The issue with impending work rule changes by way of FAR's has created a dilemma for both FedEx and ALPA. We don't want to negotiate what the government mandates. The galling thing is, FedEx has made it clear, we will pay for our (flight and duty) safety improvements.
When will the company willingly negotiate improvements on issues dear to our hearts?? If there is a change in Administration in 2012, expect (at best) cost of living raises until you retire with some regrade (IMHO) on health care and other QOL issues; unless our friends at UPS and or the pax industry makes great strides on getting back what they lost in BK.

To sum up ALPA's position, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".

 

In this case, the bird in the hand means status quo for at least 2 years...maybe as much as four. Sure hope the company doesn't need to dust off that 4a2b plan in a few years.