CloudSailor

Really guys? Are the less than 3%/year, and signing bonus, enough to overlook the fact that we are signing this deal for 6-10 years???

Considering:
-the lack of achieving an improved A-plan
-the minimal improvement to the B-plan
-the loss of 1st class DH (important due to the deviation bank)
-the possibilities opened up with 6-week bid periods
-the expanded use of hub sleep rooms
-the loss of HILO for FDA's, Hawaii, Anchorage, Central and South America
-the yet-to-be-determined SLR language
-the addition of 20% of R-days to PBS (yes, even the NC has agreed it is PBS 2.0, after our VTO system)
-the 3 year commitment for new hires to FDAs
-the max 10% increase in monthly health insurance vs. 6%
-the loss of passover pay
-the addition of Dash-8 and equivalent aircraft added to EUR DH's (again, about the deviation bank)
-the hidden gems in the language of section 25
-the allotment of a large sum of negotiating capital to our retiring captains, so that in the event they were thinking of retiring before 64.5, they won't now?
-the encouragement of flying sick, for max SLB, or to die while trying?
-the precedent we set by agreeing to a TA that does NOT meet our cornerstone Section 6 Openers?

I mean, I guess we all have a price point. But really, are we that desperate for this amount of pay raise to sign this for close to a decade??? The company thinks so. I do NOT. I hope you do not either.

fly2ski

I like how so many think it took 4 years to negotiate this TA. It took 1 week! That's when the company for some unknown reason threw their best and final offer on the table. Guess what, we took it!! Someone, something, a higher power perhaps, said get it done. Up until then the company was shadow boxing with a rope-a-dope training partner. Duck, dive, stall all the while extending crews, questioning use of contractual rights, excessing, not hiring, asking to buy back vacation, and AVA. Contract Now explains it all.

Raptor

The Ford CEO said get it done.

CloudSailor

And also very likely, the pressing needs from the EU for the TNT acquisition. If we vote this TA in, we will know soon enough. If we reject it, we will also know, but we will be in a much better position than we are in today (with a TA that meets our Openers).

And we will get the TA we set out to achieve in our Openers, which will be worth our collective effort, before Thanksgiving, without doing any hard work to achieve it (just kidding Rock, just kidding).

IrishSkies

Wasn't our "Line in the sand" NO PBS?

Well this TA crosses that line. In fact the company gets one third of their originally proposed PBS plan with absolutely nothing in return.
I was told two years ago that the company wanted to keep 60% of the trips and reserve days available to "build" schedules under their proposed PBS system. Mind you that 60% was the company's "aim for the stars" offering and they realistically didn't think that 60% figure was possible but a high number to start negotiations with.

As Cloud Sailer brought to light in his post above;

-The addition of 20% of R-days to PBS (yes, even the NC has agreed it is PBS 2.0, after our VTO system)

Throughout negotiations our union continued their warcry of "no PBS" all the while reassuring the pilot group that NO PBS was a cornerstone issue

60% trip/R Day holdback (desired)
20% R Day holdback (achieved)
That looks to me as if;
THE COMPANY ACHIEVED ONE THIRD OF PBS FOR FREE

We may want to reword that whole "cornerstone" and "NO PBS" mission statement

FDXLAG

See Raptor this is my point. For every bullet here I could make a counter argument that is just as much a reason to vote yes. But yes voters aren't reasoned like the no voters, we are "desperate".

USMCFDX

Them post your list. I don't think yes voters are desperate, I just disagree with them.

FDXLAG

I have I refuted or countered all of them. Take retirement, I don't want to pay what it will cost to boost the A Plan. The B Plan went up 2% what did you expect. We tied the NC hand on this.

The loss of a first class DH. Misnomer and misleading, we never had a guaranteed first class except over 16 hours. We have had a class upgrade that the company can and is playing with under the current language that you guys want to keep indefinitely. The Lie Flat provision is well defined and guarantees at least a class upgrade.

Six week bid periods are our idea, and a good one. 10 four week and 2 six week months make scheduling much easier and is much more conducive to time off then 8 and 4 5 week. Nothing stops the company from scheduling 8 five week months and 3 four week months now but they don't, why?

The expanded use of hub sleep rooms. Can only happen if they can guarantee just about every hub turner a sleep room. But Bluto they control the schedule and make it so they don't require one. Yes and they do that now, I have day hub turns that went from 4:20 turns to 3:58 and I have lost my sleep room.

The loss of HILOs. The gain of rolling travel banks.

The yet to be determined SLR language. The company can use whatever secondary line program they want, nothing stops them contractually, with this TA they have agreed to work with us. If you are senior and bidding a VTO you will have more say over your schedule then now. If you are Junior and bidding a VTO you will have more say over your schedule then now.

The PBS delusion. Our VTOs are and have always been and will always be a form of PBS. Right now it is a very bad version of PBS. The NC has attempted to make it better.

Enough for now. Nap time.

Raptor

You may find it odd, but after retirement, the HILO give back is my biggest beef and I'm not even an FDA guy!

I just don't feel the need that I have to pay for everything or cost neutralize everything.

Enjoy your nap!

AirHead328

I find it really interesting that no one expected the timing of this...and no one from the union has brought up this point. I think there is no coincidence as to the timing of the offer. I said last fall to my friends we would have an offer around October of 2015, no sooner. The reason was the $1.7 billion dollar cost cutting announced in 2012.

FedEx Announces Programs Targeting $1.7 Billion In Annual Profit Improvement by End of Fiscal 2016

Pretty certain top level management was telling anyone below them to defer as many costs as possible, including large new contract payouts until after this period. They can then deliver on there promise to the BOD and shareholders and collect their bonuses...

I also would also bet a contract for multiple 757/767 sims comes out in November time-frame.

Just my thoughts.