here's how I look at it: say you were hired prior to December 2015, when this company started tagging on an extra $10K and 12 month indentured servitude commitment for PS pilots seeking to 'upgrade' (GET A RAISE), I would perceive (albeit with a nascent legal eyeball) that an initial hire 18 month contract should be considered null in court ...

lemme try and splain' right quick: you sign on for whatever the cost was for an initial hire agreement assuming you either have the time/qualifications required to upgrade (PAY RAISE) at that time OR you will get it within an 18month timeframe. right? OK? ... so along comes this new agreement which for all intents and purposes further limits your earning potential for another year (this, with the assumption that other companies starting F/O pay for similarly qualified candidates are paid equal to - if not more than 1st/2nd year Captains at PS) - and now you've been in a contract assuming in which after 18months you are unbound to go make some more $$$ somewhere else or keep on slugging it out at PS, but instead get locked into another year (potentially) missing out on other higher paying opportunities (or whatever the case may be) that better suit your resume' ...

HOWEVER, if you got hired after December 2015 - you should have known full well that there is a double-dose of "training-contracts" at PS and should you bail-out on either, you'd be on the hook. I'm not justifying what they are doing regarding the "upgrade" (PAY RAISE) agreement because in my opinion whatever cost it takes on the end of PS to fill the seat is just the cost of doing business to fulfill the reg until the music stops again.

nothing is perfect, if you go to work at PS or have been there <18months, you just gotta make it work for you.