Really dude, you're like some weird obsessed chick that won't stop calling even after you break up with her. Is it impossible for you to make your selfish and wrong-headed points without referring to me?

Am I going to come home to find you boiling my pet rabbit on the stove or something?

Carl

That was me that found the AF/KLM contract numbers. Took me about 5 minutes to find it online. But their alternative to lying was saying that the AF/KLM guys made a lot more than us, therefore we should use them as a comparison during negotiations. But no. Instead DALPA uses UsAirways, United and American...in order to make us feel good about COLA pay rate increases.

Carl

First, I think you mean the NMB...not the NLRB. Second, this is pure personal opinion on your part. You don't speak for what the NMB thinks, or "the rest of the world".

I think part of your problem is that you focus on what seat you're in. You and I are doing decently, but still not world market rates for our aircraft. Where you really need to focus is the bottom two-thirds of our list where heavily experienced guys are making FAR below world market rates for the aircraft they fly. I cannot understand why you try to sugar coat this. It is inexcusable for the quality of pilot we have here to be making so far below world market rates. Inexcusable. That's the message to management. Not: "Oh Mr. Anderson, how's that whole stock buyback thing going? Anything we can do to help?"

We're not even hitting singles or doubles finis, we were afraid to leave the dugout! We got COLA pay rate increases, and that was partially funded by less profit sharing! It's not even keeping up with inflation...real inflation that is - the kind that includes food and energy. You've got to step up to the plate in order to hit a single or a double, much less a home run. Cowering in the dugout for fear of what might go wrong doesn't cut it.

Carl

Finis;

I really did not post that to be inflammatory even though it is difficult to type one's mind without being so.

Thanks for reminding me how we are kicking butt.



PS: don't forget to say Happy Mothers Day to your wife / mother

never mind .

Carl, for this and so many other posts you make that hit the nail on the head I say "Thank you!" You express the sentiments of a great number of DALPA members, IMHO. When I hear yes voters automatically assume that we wouldn't have seen a contract for ions had we not accepted the TA I just think--"How do you know?" It's a assumption the MEC had you believe. Following up a mistake by the NC with a vote partially made out of fear played out exactly as was hoped for by the company.

Back to observation mode.

Do any of you Delta South guys remember HOW and WHY got the 25% raises in 2001?

The company didn't just throw them at us, gratis.

The company had been making record profits at the time, and we were coming off a serious hose-job of a 3+ year contract that was POS 96, when we started negotiations, remember?

We were in negotiations for nearly two years, (1999-2001). We had Family Awareness meetings, then we had a 95% strike vote, we cleaned out our lockers, we marched through the airport, we did a lot of informational picketing.

OK, fast fwd to last June. We were completely unprepared to negotiate any real increases. Where was the spool up? Where was the Family Awareness and Strike Committee?

There wasn't any. Why not? Too soon.

Richard saw that lack of preparation as an "Opportunity" to throw us a small bone early, and avoid a long and ugly contract negotiations, during a time (now) HE KNEW Delta would once again be making huge money. He KNEW what we would do to get a bigger piece of the pie, and it would not be the Happy Talk that Wall Street wants to hear. It would have been Strike Talk.

What do you think that would have done to the Stock Price? And why does he want the price up anyway?


Because Richard gets paid mostly with STOCK! Why? Because Stock gains are only taxed at 15%.

So Richard opened early, before DALPA got the pilot group prepared to really apply any leverage. 6 weeks later we get 4, 8.5, 3, 3, with the promise we will be back in negotiations by March or April 2013.

How's that working out for you?

Oh, and a very small point of clarification, DALPA didn't take Richard's "First Offer", they took his Last Offer. I spoke with one of the negotiators prior to the vote, he told me the First Offer was... NO PAY RAISES at all!

They seriously thought throwing the 717's at us and parking 200 RJ's would make us so giddy that we would not need a pay raise!

What they really did was open low, and let us twist their arm....all the way up to 12.5% plus COLA raises.

Getting back to the first point, we obviously could have done a LOT better, but just like in 1999-2001, it would have taken two years (or more) of informational picketing, inflatable rats, billboards, articles in the press, a strike vote, marching through the airport, etc. to apply the leverage necessary to get any REAL gains.

Enter the Time Value of Money argument...

Well, we are making 12.5% more today than a year ago, so that's good. But what did we give up, long term, to get it? And will we be back in negotiations any time soon? And if we are, will we be ready to apply any of the above mentioned leverage by then?

Carl,

What's the answer then?

DPA is dead in a back room somewhere of a self inflected gunshot wound.

Teamsters? YGBSM

Seriously, you know I'm not a big ALPA defender. I just don't see an alternative. Where do you seeing us go from here?

Ferd

Great post.

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