Originally Posted by gemac

What would I do? It depends on what my options are! In this case, I would look to see what other airlines would pay me as a certified airline mechanic. If this appeared to be better for me than what NW is offering, I would go there and do it. If not, if no other organization in the world would pay me anywhere close to what I had been earning, I would congratulate myself on being significantly overpaid compared to the market for "over 20 years". I would have saved significant sums for my retirement over that time, as I would have been expecting something like this at least since the TWA FA strike.

In this case, NW mechanics have 3 choices:

1. To negotiate the best package they can, and accept it.

2. To take an offer from another employer.

3. To hold their breath until they turn blue.

They have chosen number 3. Past experience indicates that they will eventually accept a contract identical to, or substantially identical to the one now on the table. They will have hurt themselves substantially by foregoing a paycheck for the duration of the strike, and they will have weakened an already tottering NW materially. None of these results are in their own best interest, but temper tantrums rarely are.