Here we go again. We don't know the details of the TA but as long as the company throws us some $$ and we profess the time value of money we win. Do we need to concern ourselves with the value the company receives in this agreement compared to our contractual gains? There are a lot of questions we don't have answers to.

Do you think you will ever find out what the company values something at? We will never know how much they value something. What factually we will know is what we get and what got traded away(if anything), and how it impacts our pilot group.

We certainly are screwed for the future. If a value can't be levied on the company's gains, they'll give us a % raise, we scream industry leading, and the company quietly retreats knowing the pilots have unwittingly signed a concessionary agreement.

Flag-of-Convenience Schemes

We sure like to fixate on our pay rates and the management knows it.

Everyone has different priorities... Hopefully the AIP betters wages for all of us and improves some of our QoL issues for line holders and reserve... We all get a single vote and let the majority decide.

I agree with everything, but on a technical note, it's officially a TA now.

Dear United Pilots,

We have completed the language writing to convert the UPA Extension Agreement in Principle (AIP) to a full Tentative Agreement (TA). This work was done carefully and exactingly, which is why it has taken since November 20 to complete. The AIP was a simple five page document; the full TA is fifteen pages.

Your members of the MEC have been supplied a copy of the Tentative Agreement for their consideration. They now have seven days to review the TA before voting on it. I have called for a Special Meeting of the MEC on December 21-22. If the MEC votes to accept the TA, they will then undoubtedly vote to send it to you for Membership Ratification. If the MEC votes to reject the TA, it dies; and we will revert to preparing for a traditional Railway Labor Act, Section 6, negotiation. The UPA’s current amendable date is January 31, 2017.

The contents of the Tentative Agreement remain under MEC confidentiality. While this may be frustrating to some, the MEC needs to complete their governance process before the TA is released to the pilots. This process allows the MEC to take action as a governing body. If the MEC votes to accept the Tentative Agreement and send it out for Membership Ratification, you will receive a copy of the TA immediately. Additionally, there will be explanatory communications to assist you in understanding all components of the TA.

We will advise you of the MEC’s actions after the Special Meeting next week.

We are United,

Alpa knows the pilot costs. It's the other side of the equation in question. It sure would be a shame if one side claimed industry leading while the other booked a financial gain 2X the cost of the agreement.

Yes the MEC has a benefit of confidential information. If history is a guide, a MEC affirmation is not a slam dunk.

While disappointing that reserve rule improvements are apparently not part of the AIP, who's to say that we the pilots are not the reason?

I was called as part of the special survey and was asked how important reserve rule improvements were in an agreement. Having sat reserve within the past year, I said very important. However, there are many who were also called who likely have never sat reserve when there are 15 short calls for 16 available pilots, or live in domicile and for whom short call is simply a minor inconvenience. It's possible that the preponderance of survey responses stated that reserve rule improvements are far less important than other issues, and therefore the negotiating committee pressed for improvements in these other areas instead.

As to the "better agreement" later argument, how can anyone say that with a reasonable degree of certainty? Is it a bit of a gamble to accept an agreement now? Yes, but so is rejecting in the hope of getting more later. It will be up to each pilot to determine which gamble has the better odds of success.