Heyas FDJ,
And this is where your rhetoric falls apart. In ONLY the pay rates was parity achieved. What about increased DC contributions? (oh yeah, I forgot, you're still on the B-scale for that until 2013)...what about the increased manning required? what about the extra day off every month on reserve? what about the vastly increased percentage of higher paying international widebody jobs that you might enjoy? (even in your worst nightmare--a relative SLI)
The loss of so many other PWA components was a huge step backwards for many. Evidently not too many (14%)--a small minority, wouldn't you agree?
Is it a net gain or loss? Depends on your perspective. 319/320 drivers got hammered. 757 crews did OK.
319/320 drivers got what? between 7%-10% pay increase and you call that "hammered"?..My! what overstated rhetoric! And 757 crews merely did "OK" with a 16% raise. I would venture to say most people would consider a 16% payraise more than "OK"! Just imagine for a moment, NuGuy, an across the board 3.5% payraise from your CURRENT rates, how happy would you be then? (DAL already had 1.5% raises due for the next 3 years)
I know over at DAL the sun rises and sets by section 3, but that's not true everywhere. Some of us appriciate that there is more to a PWA than pay rates. -Yes, and some of us go way too far in "rhetorically" minimizing SIGNIFICANT pay increases and SIGNIFICANT improvements in opportunities to fly larger equipment to more destinations. Somewhere in management's accounting, they attach a cost to each item in the PWA. Pilots do the same, although probably more on a subjective basis.
Sure, there was more money. Deduct what we lost, or will be forced to pay (health insurance), and in quite a few NWA's guys mind, it was an improvement, but a VERY minor one. --Yeah, ask the 757 capt. if his 16% raise at DCC and 1/1/09 is a "VERY minor" improvement.. He can buy a lot of insurance with 22,000 extra dollars laying around every year!
Guys voted --overwhelmingly-- for a minor improvement. I'd expect them to. No harm there, but certainly no windfall, though.--but certainly better than you would have got as a stand-alone--which would have been "0" "goose egg" for the next 3 years...
Nu