Originally Posted by
wt932051
That quick upgrade is starting to slow down at all Regionals. There are not that many airplanes to be awarded anymore. The dust is settling. So even if this contract passes, it is doubtful we will get much more flying. If we don't, the bottom half of our employee group will be stuck as FO's making whatever they voted in. We do have power to get industry average and inflation increases this time. I don't need the growth. You might. There just isn't much left out there. So becareful what FO wages you are willing to accept. You might have to live with it longer then you expected. You newbies all make us Mesa guys who went through the past 10 years of pain like we are the problem. We are actually looking out for the long term of the industry. If you keep working for less then the other guy, it will continue to be a race to the bottom. Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, and Virgin America are great examples of the new "Regionals" that are doing flying for half the pay of a Legacy. Eventually they will get big and hurt the Legacy carriers. So at some point you have to realize you are worth more and hold the line. Harder to do at a regional since we are essentially contractors but it has to start somewhere. The low FO pay was created by your buddy pilots that worked before you and did the same thing you newbies are doing. Selling out.
With all due respect, sir...how you were "looking out for the industry in the long-term" by accepting sub-par wages, 50-seat base pay, and working under a bankruptcy contract for a decade?
Methinks you weren't doing anything other than looking out for your own Captain seat/salary while flying here over the last decade. Otherwise, why didn't you make a stand and start all over as an FO at an "industry-leading" carrier like XJet/Envoy/ASA?
I'm not judging you for staying here for a decade--I love Mesa, I love our chief pilots, and I love our training department/laid-back corporate culture. I would've done the exact same thing you did (seniority/QOL/upgrade times mean everything). But don't try to twist your decision to stay here all that time into some sort of claim that you were "doing it for the industry"--it's insulting to people who actually lost their jobs making stands against low pay and poor working conditions at other regionals, instead of accepting it out of self-interest for a decade.
I wised up and realized that it's smarter to do what's best for my individual bottom-line, rather than make a stand and put my neck on the chopping-block. Coming to Mesa was the best decision of my life. I just don't think you get to make the claim that you "sacrificed" unless you actually lived through a furlough/downgrade/etc. by making a stand. Have you?
Lastly, please don't patronize the new guys--many of them are highly informed XJet/Envoy/CommutAir/Colgan/Pinnacle refugees who came here for the fast upgrade after sacrificing years of their lives at higher-paying regionals while you enjoyed your "decade of sacrifice" in a left-seat that you kept b/c you fly for the lowest-cost carrier.
I know you want your decade of service at low wages to mean something--I get that completely--but "sacrifice" is a relative term, and I don't think you're using it accurately here.