Originally Posted by
cbire880
So I take it you are against negotiating an increase in New Hire (and FO pay in general) unless that same increase is applied to everyone retroactively?
You are guranteeing that regional FO's will never see above poverty wages. While I understand the principle of collective baragaining and I agree that any such deal should be mutually agreed to by all parties, there is a huge disparity between what a new hire FO makes and what the rest of the pay scale is. The concept of "paying your dues" at poverty level wages isn't going to help. Why not improve the situation and attract more motivated candidates? In long run, you will benefit by having a higher quality pilot group.
You REALLY don't understand the situation here...read my post again.
I'm absolutely not opposed to increasing FO pay. I'm all for increasing FO pay, ESPECIALLY first year pay...that would attract quality applicants.
What I am proposing is that any incentive paid to pilots is negotiated by the pilot group and applied in some equitable manner to the entire pilot group. This does two things:
1) Locks in the incentive.
2) Rewards ALL the pilots for sticking around.
Why do you think management doesn't offer $5K bonuses to senior FO's or CA's who agree to stick around for a year? Because those pilots are more expensive than year one FO's and the company would far rather that they just LEAVE. All well and good unless you have a family, mortgage, bills, and can't get an interview at a suitable major.
Eagle is OPENLY encouraging their senior pilots to quit while they are offering bonuses to first-year FO's. To their credit they are taking some positive steps by assisting their senior pilots with placement at major airlines.