RAH pilots are being incredibly selfish. Not only are they passing up free pay raise, they are passing up the opportunity to raise the bar for first year FO pay for the rest of the industry!
Mark my word, their new contract will not have first year FO pay at $30/hr. Way to keep the bar low for entry level.
RAH pilots have no say for or against whether the pay raise will be implemented because it is a contract issue. And without it being in an LOA, it violates the contract.
First year pay is typically low at all carriers. The pay scale is flat in that it hardly increases throughout its longevity. The pay increase was proposed as a way to entice applicants and to minimize FO attrition. However, it has been way too long of a negotiations, 5 years, for management to start playing nice.
Applicants should look at the whole picture and not just first year pay.