Some very sage advice on this forum. The reality is simply this. Any (ANY) contract offer that has ANY improvement is a gain. From what I have been able to ascertain from others who have been here far longer than I, many times in the past the AOA/membership have rejected contract offers that have included improvements in pay and benefits, only to find that the next offer is far less valuable. This has happened several times over the past 15 years.
Other than the Luddites such as ACMS. most of us should realise that this contract includes some definate improvements. Is it the contract that we want....no, it is not. Is it overall an improvement, one could argue it is. I would rather take what is on the table now, and then build on that in future negotiations. Anything we reject now is something we may not attain for a long time to come. Any improvement to pay raises the base that the NEXT negotiations must improve on. It seems that many of the people on this forum seem stuck on the idea that somehow the A scalers are the real problem in this offer. As a B scaler, I would rather see the upper end of the scale continue to improve...becuase history shows that that is the only guarantee that our own conditions will follow suit. The offered contract has improvements to my pay NOW. As of Jan 08 I will be earning more than I am at the moment. Take what they are offering, and then immediately start agitating for more. Don't turn down more money. The history of this airline shows that it always results in a lesser offer the next time round.
ps. the issue of 65, the A scale and DEFO will happen regardless,...so explain to me why I should turn down a pay rise being offered...?