You obviously weren’t here during the Rick Dubinsky years lol. Ultimate narcissist who handled the strike and orchestrated C2000. Basically “He’s and assh0le but at least he’s our assh0le” type. Play nice and get along hasn’t worked out too well for 6 yrs has it? I’m not saying NS is the answer but replacing Insler/Hamilton with someone from the same mold may not be the answer either.

 

Unfortunately, the best pilots for the position of MEC Chair are the ones who are smart enough to stay away from it.

 

i agree 100 percent

 

Dubo got C2K but it was doomed from the day it was signed. Even without 9/11 every analyst said it wasn’t sustainable and it wasn’t. Remember his golden goose comments? How did that work out for us? Lost our A plan, company nearly cratered after the summer of love. I certainly don’t want those dark days again. Having an A-hole as a leader screwed us badly in the past let’s not repeat that just because we got handed a bad TA. Move forward with experience from our past to keep us from making the same mistakes again.

 

It was doomed because the APA voted no on a TA that would have more or less matched UAL & DAL then the dot.com implosion and 9/11 among other shocks happened.

But nice try.

 

We are doomed. Roaches are going to come out from the dark corners to feed.

 

The thought that NS might be just the A-hole we need right now did cross my mind last night. However he’s got such deep seated issues I don’t feel he’s stable enough to take on the position.

Not to mention the simmering piles of hate and discontent he’s left behind with his vitriol and free flowing hate filled mouth.

 

Well said.

 

Let’s not continue to conflate a-hole with effective leader.

I’d take a new hire over anyone’s name I’ve heard so far. Unless all you want to hear in MEC updates is HOW EVIL C34 IS.

 

Don't be too hard on A-funds. They're a hell of a benefit if done right, but its crucial to understand the there is a difference between how a fund operates, the amount of money it actually has, its actual liabilities and what ERISA says it has to have. The problem is that last part, which is usually wildly inaccurate but is what drives legally required contributions that can run into the 9 figures.

In fact, we just saw another 1/2 pct jump in interest rates. For all the caterwauling in the business press, that's just taking rates back into low part of "normal" after a decade plus of essentially zero. It's starting to get into the realm of where the go-forward funding requirements drop off substantially and companies start to say "hmmm, I can set up a self funding plan rather than paying out real money every two weeks? Tell me more!".

If you don't understand how long term interest rates affect the "health" of DB plans, I suggest some reading up. The interesting part is how existing, surviving pension funds, which have been funded for years now assuming near zero interest, have their funding requirements change abruptly because of the rise in interest rates.