Bart, I completely agree that the 25-year housing deal was "in the bag" and for the company to try to wiggle out of it or barter for something in return is simply poor form. The union should get that signed and sealed before any talks can possibly be conducted in good faith.
On the other hand, people have got to realize that LEPs (or more correctly CEPs) WILL be the majority of recruits in CX. For those who still don't know, guys with thousands of hours are joining on a super-short "cadet" course (aka Finesse Course) so yes, the next time you see some SO who has 5000 hours flying Dash-8s around Oz, he's here with no housing coz he's a "cadet". It won't be long before CEPs are the majority in the union. (I can't imagine CEPs not getting any housing by then but I don't want to even imagine what a CEP-majority AOA exco will do to benefit themselves if that is truly the case) Fighting for and protecting housing for the CEPs is the only way we could protect the downfall of the B-scale in the way A-scale has gone down the drain.