Originally Posted by
pagey
I understand that this is an accepted fact.
Now, other than the pay caps and the 10 years. How exactly is XJTs contract so much better than ours? For the most part it is just like I said above.....It's just simply accepted that their contract is superior to ours. I'm sure someone from XJT can come on here and say "We have this, we have this, we have that" "You don't have any of that". However, I could say the same in return to a number of items. So which ones are more important? Well other than compensation that will differ from pilot to pilot.
The big ticket items seem to be comparable between the 2(insurance, retirement etc). Perhaps I need some education but while reading through the new XJT TA there are quite a few items that I could not imagine having to deal with. Items that are already in the contract meaning they are not coming on as a consequence of PSA's deal.
Every contract isn't going to be perfect and there will be good and bad in each.
Again I can't argue that in the future a pilot at XJT will make more than I will for similar equipment. However, I will make more than some other groups as well due to work rules and better retirement.
I'm just not seeing why our MIDDLE OF THE PACK compensation is such a degradation of the industry other than "You took concessions so you are all bad"
Why settle for middle of the pack? Shouldn't you want to be closer towards the top? Why isn't that everyone's goal? Especially in light of projected retirements coming down the pipeline. There is a once in a generation opportunity that puts the leverage in regional pilots' hands. Every regional pilot group should seize it and say no to concessions. Instead regional pilot groups are getting picked off one by one because of a tunnel vision for the quick upgrade and shiny jets.
All of those upgrades and new jets are going to occur on their own with out any need of concessions from regional pilots. It is managements job to retool the airlines with new aircraft. It isn't your job to pay for it. The fact that these aircraft add more seats and a whole bunch of premium seats means that the additional revenue will shrink the pilot costs naturally. It is economies of scale.
Do mainline pilots take concessions to fly larger aircraft? No, so why should regional pilots?
Your pilot group recently voted in a brand new TA after years of hard work and negotiations. Now you take steps backward, outside of bankruptcy, and for what? New aircraft, the promise of them being growth (despite a lack of pilots everywhere), and 12 additional interviews at mainline per year. The potential upside does not objectively match the potential downside.
What changed in the industry to prompt this need for concessions? The only trends I've observed suggest regional pilots should be getting raises not concessions. There are less qualified pilots to choose from and the requirements to become a pilot are more difficult. It would literally take an act of congress to undo the ATP rule. Given how effective they have been I doubt a reversal will happen any time soon.
Look at the timing for all the demand for concessions. It is at the very front end of the retirement wave. Management knows that their leverage over regional pilots is evaporating. They are quickly trying to push the bar as low as they can before Pilot's collectively realize what is going on. Why do you think your TA is effective for 10 years instead of the typical 5 years?
They want to be able to tell you and future pilots that follow you to pound sand and wait for the amendment date for any talks of raises.
Your deal is akin to Eagle pilots voting for their bankruptcy TA because it had furlough protection. It was an easy give for management because they knew that they would never have to furlough pilots because of the projected attrition due to mainline hiring and AA flow through. That was a hallow victory that looks great in an ALPA press release
12 additional interviews for mainline a year is much the same. You'll likely be losing 12 guys a month (if not much, much more) when mainline hiring gets into full swing. It is projected to be so fast that they will have no choice but to park the CRJ-200s becuase they won't have enough warm bodies to fill the seats. Don't believe me. Look at the retirement numbers and look at what is happening to RAH and look at what Bedford said he might have to do in order to preserve the more important 70 and 76 seater. Every regional will have this problem. So really you gained nothing.
That is a great projection and a great thing to hope for, but as I stated before something could happen that slams the door shut at mainline. If that happens will the pay caps have been worth it? Will being perpetually stuck at 4 year pay be with it? Ask a RAH FO how they feel about that.