Heard on the TA tours:
-- Two concessionary contracts ago: "We've got to overweight the senior guys to protect their retirement. Got to protect the A-Fund--your A Fund eventually. You junior guys will get yours next round."
Then 9/11 happened. Sorry about that but you're all furloughed, displaced to other bases and are now commuters, or on reserve. Well, stuff happens. Who could have known.
-- One concessionary contract ago: "They're threatening bankruptcy and they're going to take away the A Fund. Got to protect it for the senior guys, but you get none. No more A Fund at all. But, you junior guys will get yours next round because the senior guys will be retired.
Age 65 passes. You'll all be stagnated for five years, furloughs because no one planned on having these extra pilots. Stuff happens. Who could have known.
-- This concessionary contract: "We've got to strengthen to retirement plan because the senior guys lost so much since the lump sum is now calculated from age 65 instead of age 60; five lost years of annuity equivalency. We'll tweak your pay some, but it won't matter because you're all past those pay scales now anyway."
Merger with UAL. Stuff happens. Who could have known.
-- Next concessionary contract: :The bottom of third of the combined pilot list isn't on the property due to furlough. Let's just rob the junior guys (again) and make whole what we senior guys have lost, lo these many years."
And on it goes.
Twenty years from now today's junior guys will be pulling the same stuff. "Got to be made whole after being robbed all these years." They'll have learned from the masters.