Originally Posted by
Airsupport
i too am hoping for the exodus... one good thing is that what ever pay rate we get, we are going to change it in negotiations... so if it is a good rate, we will go a little hire during negotiations. uncle phil had a chance to put this all down over 2 years ago.. now he has got this pilot group so riled up that we wont take a crappy offer.
The arbitrator will decide the pay rate for the -900, if the contract should settle shortly thereafter we will have little to no position to get a better -900 rate. if the contract drags like most of us expect, we will stand a better chance of higher rate for the -900. The risk is.. if the arbitrator "caps" the 900 rate lower than what we will argue for, it can have an affect the -200 rate.
Uncle Phil I feel is waiting a little longer, right now a good part of the pilot group cannot vote. Those who can, may be enticed by growth and upgrades and lose sight of the prize. The senior pilots are dropping like flies, so it can be attractive to a really junior pilot to sign, especially since it appears everyone will be hiring in the next few years. Some have predicted that the decision on the contract will come to the junior guys who came from programs who "need" Pinnacle to achieve their career goals.