Raptor,

You're a breath of fresh air around here, thank you for weighing in. I wish you guys nothing but luck in your ongoing Section 6 effort.

The RLA is onerous to labor at every step until release to self-help. The trouble with any attempt (by either side) to "fix" the RLA is that you could end up with something like S. 1327, the Airline Labor Dispute "Resolution" Act." Go ahead and google it, but you might want about three fingers of Jameson's after you're through reading. That is what it looks like when "labor risk is off the table." I'm pretty sure the AEI or the Club For Growth have plenty of ideas that would make us nostalgic for the RLA.

The problem of getting ahead has a lot of angles. Right now it's all about getting good direction from the membership; I think the negotiators need to know everything they can about the members' priorities, morale, and awareness of both the contract and the process by which we amend it. The words the MEC chooses are tremendously important. If you act like you peaked academically in high school, then the NMB won't take you seriously.

The NMB is a contest: each side trying to convince the Board that they have been logical and reasonable at every step, and that their counterparts are negotiating in bad faith. The APA forgot that, and it cost them $44 million in fines, plus the lost years between that brilliant maneuver and their next contract. Timing is everything, the time value of money isn't just a cliche, and the NMB isn't always Santa Claus. If you make it clear from the outset that you are planning for the NMB to force the outcome, you're toast.

As far as "divisions" go, I believe that there is always a noisy minority of the membership that will always vote against any TA; there's no pleasing some people, regardless of the progress we have made since 2007.

We are in an an auspicious position to begin negotiations, and I hope that our outcomes exceed even our abundant potential. We can get to a better place contractually, but we can't afford to pretend that tinpot populism can stand in for strategy.

Please explain the process where as an Association administrative official is not elected?

Thanks, Raptor. That sound exactly like what we received. I understand Carl to be concerned that we did not receive more detailed information as to exactly the opening position on pay rates, etc.

I don't know and frankly don't care. It's unimportant. But I would guess because they don't know you are not Carl. there are a bunch of Carls out there that want to do anything they can to kill dALPA.

Accountability. Now that is an interesting phrase. How would you hold someone "accountable" and for what would you hold them accountable? Again, you have zero idea of the exchanges in the negotiations room, therefore it is impossible to hold anyone "accountable" for something you don't like, and that is what all this boils down to. Holding them accountable for something you do not like or agree with.

And yet a very vocal minority created the DPA.

Bump..........

I don't recall any of us saying that Mesabah. Could you point me to that post?

Carl

All those words don't change the premise tsquare. The premise is measuring performance. You don't want us to have that capability, and neither does DALPA. If we're never shown the opener or survey results, we don't have a clue of admins effectiveness.

I think you meant despise, and no I don't despise DALPA. DALPA is my only choice, thus my only choice is trying to improve DALPA...not destroy it.

You too.

Carl

Okay. Let me get this straight...

First, I realize that I have made this point again and again and again. In this particular case, I was making the point to someone who may or may not be familiar with it... but, yeah, anybody who has frequented the Delta threads over the past several years has seen me post about this numerous times.

So, shiznit... Do you think this is a point that doesn't need to be made? You don't think it's important or relevant that we took such massive cuts to the standard of living our compensation can support and, 10 years later with a completely polar opposite situation, the bulk of the massive cuts still stand? DALPA has clearly demonstrated that they have no objective or intention to restore our buying power. And no matter how much the issue is brought up with them, they just ignore the input and stay the course.

I know you guys would just LOVE for me to drop it. And you can try to embarrass me or make fun of me for it, but I'm not going to let you shut me up. Yeah, it's a funny picture and it makes a funny point. But I think it speaks volumes about YOU that you want all this swept under the rug. Humor aside, that's your real message.