Here's what I have learned about the whole work rules vs. pay rate argument. Pay rates are black and white, no interpretation. Work rules, while the company and union may agree on them today, there is no guarantee the company will not change it's interpretation tomorrow. This is what we got at XJT, we voted for a pay cut to "help" the company, no work rule changes, then two years later, new management and a new interpretation of the work rules resulting in a loss of QOL. We gave up the pay, got nothing in return, and then lost QOL that we thought was safe in our work rules. Get those rates, make them high, then put as many examples in your contract to illustrate your work rules as possible.
Also, do not ever make a decision because you think it will help the company out. It is not your job to make your company competitive. That job belongs to management, and pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, and agents are not management. The finance people will never agree to anything that will not allow the company to make money and remain competitive, so we need to push hard and get the most that we can without regard to what we think the company can or cannot afford because we don't have those figures, and neither do our negotiators.