Originally Posted by
scambo1
I'm a doooosh sometimes...even when I don't mean to be.
The company has no problem taking away pay rates when times get tough. I'm not interested in helping them do that by devaluing PS and also making it a pay rate.
The beauty of PS is that it works in good and bad times...in bad times, it has no value so it stays in the contract. In good times it pays in addition to rates.
My seat pays $35-40/hr less that it paid in 2004 un corrected for inflation. BTW, that is up significantly from its low.
Just as important - any value we get for trading PS for pay-rates only last 1 contract cycle. After that it is gone, poof, as if it never existed.
Some in DALPA say it is unrealistic that the company would pay us significantly more than our competition and also the NMB would "park" us if we hold out for such.
WIth this in mind just suppose we trade 6% PS for pay. Next contract our pay rates are limited by the negotiating environment and our competitions compensation as DALPA loves to remind us. Does anyone really think we would be successful in saying "Hey you have to not count 6% of our pay because that was a trade for PS! last contract."
Trading PS for pay-rates is a fools errand. Don't believe me - just ask yourself: If it is so good for us why is it at the top of the companies wants?
Answer - Because they know in the long run the only way they can reduce/eliminate it is by trading it for pay-rates. If they can convince us that it is also a pay-raise - double bonus for management!
Scoop