Like I said when the Boeing 787 problems first started, this was just the tip of the iceberg. The cards are now falling and they are not going to stop. Boeing created all of these issues, not the people on the floor. If you do the inflation math properly and take into account compounding the employees really deserve more than what they settled for. In addition, the union leadership who negotiated for the employees make a whole lot more money than the people they represent. They are really not in a position to recommend anything. All they should be doing is presenting what they negotiated. It’s up to the employees to determine the value of the offer.
Regarding pensions vs. take home pay. It makes no difference to the company. It’s a cost to the company regardless where you put it. I’ve seen benefit packages negotiated with no increase in take home pay. A lot of it depends on how solvent current pensions are. I have also seen a lot of people retire with pensions that have been reduced because of solvency status.
In my head, take your money now because it may not be there in the future. It is all dependent on a company’s future health and who really wants to bet on that.
Lock in requirement will do nothing. When a company goes bankrupt all bets are off. History is full of examples that bare this out.