This is an interesting conversation. If ALPA and the Company aren't entertaining a reduction in PS, good for them.
PD hasn't backed up his claim yet, but I'm not dismissing it out-of-hand. Jerry has made the claim that some specific people are pushing for a monetization of the PS, but he can't back it up. Jerry sometimes has great rumors, sometimes he's just a puppet for some council's ventriloquist. He's warned on things that haven't yet materialized, like Pay Banding, but he failed to warn on SDP's.
I'm one of the people that believes he saw a trial balloon floating across the lounge. To be clear, I spoke to a guy that likes to be union-adjacent, but isn't in the structure as far as I know. He told me he had just spoken about the AA TA with a rep, and he (the pilot, not the rep) believed we wouldn't see much above AMR (DAL+7%) without monetizing the PS. I didn't have the time to expand on how the previous conversation caused him to believe this. For all I know, the rep simply told him the AA numbers, and that was that. I really have no first-hand knowledge of anyone in the union pushing for a monetization of the PS.
Another reason I thought some of had been exposed to trial balloons was this post:
Originally Posted by
sailingfun
No, that's why it makes sense to monetize the profit sharing if it's above and beyond the negotiated payrates. In my case it's probably better to stick with profit sharing with the few years I have left. If however i had 20 years to go I would want the money in the payrates.
"The industry is fundamentally changed. Double digit rate of returns are hear to stay!" That was the Mantra being touted by management and unions alike in 2000. By June of 2001 the airlines were facing some of the biggest losses ever. It turned in the blink of a eye. For the young guys we need to be very careful how much at risk based compensation we leave in our contracts. It would be beyond stupid to negotiate based on good times forever.
But now sailing says he saw nothing, heard nothing...
So far, we have an unconfirmed from PD, a denial from sailing, the usual from Jerry, and the
impression that I saw a trial balloon floating by, maybe, via proxy.
Anyone else?