Nah, I get it. Hammer on the new guys, protect the interests of the senior guys. That's tradition in the airlines.
But, let's talk about where I came up with the "tens of thousands" figure, and why I might think it's unfair that myself and a good number of 767 pilots are making less than ~120-200 pilots junior to us.
1st year pay (767 and 747): $78/hr
2nd year pay (747): $98/hr
2nd year pay (767): $82/hr
3rd year pay (747): $103/hr
3rd year pay (767): $86/hr
For our calculations, let's just use an average credit per month of 72 hours for both 767 and 747 pilots.
1st year: ($78 * 72 * 12) = $67,392
2nd year (747): ($98 * 72 * 12) = $84,672
2nd year (767): ($82 * 72 * 12) = $70,848
3rd year (747): ($103 * 72 * 12) = $88,992
3rd year (767): ($86 * 72 * 12) = $74,304
All totaled up:
Years 1-3 (747): $241,056
Years 1-3 (767): $212,544
For those keeping score at home, the difference between the two?
$28,512! Literally tens of thousands, not including the potential for hazardous duty pay on the 747 side of the house!
Now, I don't know about you, but I bet you'd feel pretty raw about involuntarily making almost $30,000 less over the course of three years than pilots junior to you. I bet you'd also feel pretty raw if pilots junior to you were holding a base drivable from your house while you're locked into a transcon commute to CVG. Am I wrong, or is this just a blow-off issue because it doesn't affect the senior pilots? Seniority is broken down here at the lower ranks; this is something we should all care about!
Also, the 3 year lock makes good business sense? It makes good business sense to cut our pay in half too, right? The industry standard equipment lock is 1 year for new-hires and transitions. We are way behind.
And yes, many of us
did have 50 hour months our first year. Hell, I was even told by one of our stewards that I should feel lucky to have my whole schedule dropped to R1 right after getting off training pay.
Profit sharing? We all know it's a joke, but my class and I won't get a full year's profit sharing check until 2016, even though we were hired in 2013. A year without profit sharing? More like 2-3.
These are issues that need to be addressed in the next CBA, not brushed aside because they don't affect the senior pilots. If we want industry standard, we need an EXCO that will push for it.