The union recommended the last deal so i hardly think they are trying to cause a strike. A union rep came into my briefings before the last ballott to recommend that we vote yes to the last deal so that it would put us in a good position for the next set of negotiations. As soon as he went out of the room my crew said they would be voting no as they are fed up with waiting until the next deal and the next deal and so on..... I have to say i agreed with them.
I appreciate what the union have done for us in the last 6 years but the majority of our members feel that now is the time for the company to show some loyalty to us and dig deeper. If the money has to come out of the pot thats in place for the pilots imminent pay rise then so be it, then they will have to fight like we have to get what they feel is fair.
The company must have known this was going to happen eventually. Why didn't they plan for it. It is not our fault the management in place are incompetent enough not to have forseen this, all the crew did..