Q: If the TA is voted down, what is the timeline/process of what happens next?
It is unlikely that a “TA2” would be turned around super quickly if the TA is not ratified. That is just not how the process works. The process could take several months. The MEC would have to decide whether or not to change any members of the Negotiating Committee. The NC would be charged with surveying/meeting with members to figure out exactly why the TA failed. Then new opening proposals based on those results would be created and reviewed by the MEC. Only after that would we meet with and request further mediation dates from the National Mediation Board (NMB) (we would still be in mediation). Once the NMB set new dates, bargaining would begin.
If history is any guide, if a merger happens during open contract negotiations, oftentimes the contract negotiations are shelved and JCBA negotiations commence. United/Continental, USAirways/America West/AA are both examples.
There is no telling what would happen. If the TA is not ratified, we could go back and get TA2, or delays could mean we end up in JCBA.