What he said although I would have thrown in a few expletives lol.

 

Shows how out of touch they are.

With the RLA and the FACT that we have contract amendable dates and NOT expiration dates they ALREADY get 2 years (on average), sometimes MORE. And they don't even have to offer up anything.

Post 9/11, UPS and FedEx were making a killing, and the companies STILL drug it out......

 

I was speaking about the company not our MEC.

 

Ok, sorry, and never mind.

 

I am not sure I agree with the logic train of just about anybody on this thread. Most of our contracts are 2-4 years late, and we never get full retro, despite our clamoring.

Now, the company is offering pay raises during the current good times. Maybe they are too low, I don't know as I haven't seen them. But would we rather sit on our current pay rates for 2-4 years past the amendable date, and NOT get retro. Again?

So lets take the other point to its logical conclusion. We take the extension, and then negotiate the next contract in the middle of a huge industry downturn. So what! WE delay negotiations, until the economy starts to turn, all the while enjoying the higher pay rates, negotiated during the current boom times for the industry.

Or, we can beat our chests like in this thread, and claim victory, all the while living with 2017 pay rates until 2022. So we are tough. Woo Hoo.

I don't know what was on the table. Maybe we can do better.

Beating our chests will not fix IT issues, it will not fix the screw desk, and it will absolutely NOT force the company to comply with a single more issue of our current contract. If it makes you feel good, great.

A 2 year extension, with pay rates similar to what DAL gets soon? Sign me up. I have voted NO on every single contract since I got hired in 1995. On this, I would vote yes.

 

I hear ya probe but... Nobody is asking what the company asked for in return. Surely they didn't just come to us and offer pay raise gifts with no strings attached.

APC, is this from a blast mail I don't get? How did you find out about this?


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I've only been 121 for a less than 3 years so take this with several grains of salt, but I agree with you and am anxious to see management simply comply with the current contract. We need to negotiate while we are seeing record profits. From what I understand, adjusted for inflation, we're still not even close to pre-9/11 pay rates (not that pay is everything...but it certainly makes dealing with other issues easier). I agree with Probe to some extent and would like to see what pay rates they're offering.

Guys/ladies who have lived through the past 10-20 years have a much better perspective on it than I. I tend to defer to their opinions while adding my own. The fact that most oppose anything regarding an extension speaks volumes to me.

 

In a contract extension can any changes or tweaks be implemented or does it have to remain unchanged? It sounds like pay rates can be increased.

 

Technically, and way over simplified, under the Railway Labor Act (RLA) our contract does not expire and any changes are essentially amendments, including future "new" contracts. Our current UPA has an amendable date of January 31, 2017 (Section 25-A).

If both sides agree, anything is possible at any time so all an extension really means is the official amendable date is pushed down the road. For example, the company could say "we don't want to negotiate all the sections but we will offer a X% raise if you agree to an extension (i.e. a new amendable date)"

 

You never get back lost time or lost money. You don't get back the intrinsic time value of money as well. Problem is this: Company's offer only holds water if the deal is meant to go in effect while simultaneously negotiating (and not postponing) the contract. If we are to take the company seriously, and in good faith, the company's pay raise offer would have to go into effect while simultaneously negotiating our contract. It can' or shouldn't be used as a delaying tactic.