Originally Posted by DALMD88FO

Why is it that the pilot group is the only employee group to NOT be back to their pre-bankruptcy wages? By my math the other employee groups are 6% above their pre-cut wages and management’s percentage is off the chart. Last I heard we are about 18% below our C2K 2004 rates.

I know that we didn’t get help by Moak putting out a memo that we had achieved our pre-bankruptcy wages a couple of years ago. On the surface the memo was true. We had made it back to the rates that we had right before we went into BK, however it gave us no credit for the 32% pay cut we took to attempt to keep the company out of bankruptcy. How did that bankruptcy protection letter work out for us?



This is the point; every time the company has needed help we stepped up and made it happen. We may not have liked it but at the end of the day we understood that a healthy company is in our best interest. We also thought that once the bad times were over we would be rewarded for our sacrifices. The union continually said that our time will come and even when we were making a profit in 2012 they said that the time was not quite right but soon.

Now the company is basically printing money. The good times are here but for some strange reason instead of being made whole, like the rest of the employees, we are being torn apart internally. We are being offered a contract of the same value as the one in 2012, while the company makes 4 to 5 times the money.

The way I understand the negotiations went is that the company came in and stated that they wanted a deal by July 1 and they had some big wants that needed to be addressed (sick, PS and productivity 23G5). These sections were addressed earlier in the negotiations and section 3 was addressed last, which is normal. What was not what I consider normal, was the company at this point said here you go last best offer take it or leave it with regard to section 3. This left our negotiators with the unenviable task of taking this TA to the MEC which barely sent it to MEMRAT.

There is much talk of “Did we leave money on the table?” The answer is always NO! How can that be, since the company is making so much money right now? The answer is simple and has been stated by union reps. This is how much the company is WILLING to pay and how much they put a value on the pilots. The money is there and is available just not to us. I guarantee you this. If this TA passes and before the ink is dry they will announce pay and QOL increases to the other employee groups. So the money is there it’s just a matter if we are willing to fight for it.