Short answer, yes it is.

Slightly shorter answer- especially when you figure that 5% of it was already bargained for in our pandemic LOA. If you let the company double-dip on that 5%, it’s sub-inflationary. If you look at the bigger picture it’s egregious.

 

Delta has a real union on their property. You saw how we ate garbage with TA2020: 20-40 hours given away per month, and the bottom guys got 40 hours to be on reserve for 10 days during the darkest days of the pandemic.

Delta? They gave up 4 hours per month, and their bottom guys got 30 hours and didn’t even have to show up.

That’s the difference between a real union, and one that allows the company to write the contracts and slide them across the table for their signatures.

There’s a reason United hasn’t had a pilot as ALPA President in over 60 years. As this TA2022 shows, we’re the joke of the industry.

 

I agree. I’m on the more sanguine end of the inflation discussion, but the raise is essentially 9.5% on 2019 rates. If we had only tightened up the contract and had big QOL increases, maybe this would’ve been palatable, but in conjunction with the added complexity of all the “gains,” and a few very prominent losses, I can’t understand how the MEC thought marketing this as industry-leading wasn’t going to go over like a fart in church.

I was on the fence at first, but the more I sat with the “we’ll put this provision in for PIs, but don’t intend to use it…” or the discretionary language in the LCA raises (marketed by the union as solid gains), and the fact that the scope language was even touched just had me scratching me head. It really felt like the company was playing chess and the union was playing checkers.

 

Delta also didn't totally cave on the vax. It remained optional there despite some BS. We have no representation.

 

Just to keep things straight, that was Mr Kirby’s prerogative, not the union caving. Given the YF vaccine mandate already in place, the union didn’t have a leg to stand on. Doesn’t undo the emperor’s-new-clothes routine that the NC are putting on, but I would put that in SK’s column of our “brand,” rather than a failure on the part of the MEC

 

Agree with all you said. Add to it, the AA "negotiating in public" which raises the bar. Since this will continue to the TA vote end game on 15 jul, you get two added benefits as I see it. The AA unsolicited proposal will drive fence sitters like you to a "H3LL NO" vote and the yes voters to NO. Those two groups will feel like they have been duped by both mgt and the union, after trying to give the benefit of the doubt to the MEC. This will send a huge message to mgt at 85-15 NO's that they weren't even in the ballpark. Nobody likes to feel duped. The end result is an incitement of "mob mentality", culminating in much greater costs to management.

The vote will have much more meaning than trying to pull the TA(which they can't) because the union can say, "We acted in good faith, tried to get a deal and tried to sell it to our constituents , but they said, 'NO DICE"'.

 

The current status of the United LTD is that any funds received from any other source must be reported and paid back to the LTD fund… for example Social Security disability, Harvey Watt..etc. .. the union will reduce your payout so the sum equals 8k per month or (11k if the injury/illness occurred after 10/21)
If I’m not mistaken the current TA proposal allows you to accept those funds in addition to the benefit.

 

I’ve been out on disability for some time now. You can work any job you want (as long as it isn’t for United) and it doesn’t reduce the $8,000/month. I do believe SS disability will reduce it, but I’m only disabled in the sense that I can’t hold a first class medical (due to a waiting period) so I haven’t applied for SS disability.

 

Delta also offsets for other income but not until the other inc9me exceeds your disability payment. If you are getting 20k a month from disability you can get another 20K from other sources. Concept being with 50% disability another 50% just makes you whole.

 

I'm not familiar with the LTD fund issue. However, if there are transactions that are required to be reported, they may show up on the DOL form LM-2 (Labor Organization Annual Report) that is obtainable from the Department of Labor Online Public Disclosure Room. If funds were moved this year, they wouldn't show up in the annual report until it's filed at the end of this year. But there are other reports available there which may be helpful.