Starting to feel like Clark with his the jelly-of-the-month club certificate.



Dear Fellow Continental Pilot:

As you probably know, your MEC recently established a lump sum calculator website to provide you with an early, advance estimate of your share of the payments. This is to inform you that this website will be replaced on Jan. 15, 2013 by a newly activated MEC data verification website.

You will be able to obtain estimates of your lump sum payments from the MEC data verification website. Pilots who attempt to log in to the previous estimator website will automatically be redirected to the data verification site.

Tomorrow, ALPA will send another package to pilots via email and US mail which will contain a variety of materials concerning the lump sum payments. This package will include detailed instructions on how to access the data verification website.

The lump sum payment is derived from a combination of considered earnings and eligible bid periods, as outlined in LOA 24 Exhibit C, in the United Pilot Agreement. Many of our pilots have unsuccessfully attempted to compare considered earnings for each year with earnings information from their W2 or CAL earnings statement.

Your total considered earnings for each year is not a value you can easily look up on your W2 or CAL earnings statement. The primary difference is that both your W2 and CAL earnings statement reflect the amount you received in a calendar year, while your total considered earnings for each year reflects the amount that you worked in a calendar year. There is a one month 'slip' because (for example) the work you performed in July 2012 is not paid until August 2012. The amount of considered earnings for December 2012 includes the pay advance you received on Dec. 1, 2012.

Your considered earnings DO include:
- For 2009, earnings for work performed in the 12 months from January 2009 - December 2009 (paid in February 2009 - January 2010);

- For 2010, earnings for work performed in the 12 months from January 2010 - December 2010 (paid in February 2010 - January 2011);

- For 2011, earnings for work performed in the 12 months from January 2011 - December 2011 (paid in February 2011 - January 2012);

- For 2012, earnings for work performed in the 11 months from January 2012 - November 2012 (paid in February 2012 - December 2012), plus the Dec. 1, 2012 pay advance.

Your considered earnings do NOT include (for example):
- Profit sharing distributions in February 2011 and February 2012,
- Monthly on-time bonuses ($595 for 2009, $600 for 2010, $400 for 2011, $300 for 2012),
- The monthly GUM foreign base allowance,
- Taxable and nontaxable per diem,
- Imputed amounts for LTD contributions and pass travel.

Fraternally,

Capt. Jay Pierce
CAL MEC Chairman