Just got this from a pilot friend here. Something to consider
On Friday, March 14, the Company released the changes to our health care insurance, including what pilots would be paying in premiums. Under our current contract, the Company is allowed to pay any percentage of the cost of the insurance and pass on the remainder to the pilots—and that’s just what they did here. Over the weekend, your MEC Officers and Negotiations Committee took a close look at the changes and you can be sure we didn’t like what we found.
Under these changes, many of us will be paying double what we currently do for the same level of coverage. So the pilots are effectively subsidizing other employees’ health insurance costs, because we are forced to remain healthy for the FAA standards Added to the fact that we are still one of the lowest paid carriers in the regional industry, this further decreases our take home pay. We would say we’re the bottom of the barrel, but we’re not even sure we’re in the barrel anymore.
With every paycheck, Mesa pilots’ quality-of-life will be further eroded and many of us may find it cheaper to simply go outside the company and seek individual policies that provide equivalent coverage. It’s pathetic that professional pilots have to consider outside health care coverage, when every Starbucks full-time employee has affordable care, but that’s where we are.
Your MEC urges pilots to carefully review the new health insurance programs, including the coverage offered and the premiums and educate yourself as to what is available both through the company and through individual policies. Under the federal “Affordable Care Act” (“Obamacare” or ACA), each state is mandated to offer an “insurance exchange.” There are also numerous reputable websites where you can quickly compare health insurance coverage and premiums apples to apples. It may well be a rewarding investment of your time. Open enrollment at MAG closes March 31, as does the ACA enrollment period.
Meanwhile, as management boasts about new planes and growth, our negotiating team waits for any movement from the company at the table and we get less and less in our paychecks. This is not the way to attract new pilots or keep the ones you have. We are a vital part of the success of this company and it is far past the time for the pilots to be treated as such. With recent contract gains at other regional carriers, potential new hires are surely going to start reconsidering if they want to come to MAG.
Soon, we’ll be coming out with a booklet detailing the negotiating reality we live in, and how we stack up with other regional carriers across a number of economic metrics. Suffice to say, don’t look at the top of the chart for Mesa—aim your eyes a bit lower down. Quite a bit lower…
MAG management needs a reality check. Your MEC leadership will not stand idly by as our management leads the race to the bottom and tries to drag us along with them. We will continue to press the company on all issues, including the latest insurance premium insult. If you have any questions, or wish to volunteer to help us in the fight, contact your status rep.