Originally Posted by
sailingfun
The 28 Apr check is a advance on April until they close out the Apr pay with the final check 15 MAY. The check you get around 30 May will be the first one you get at the higher rates. The term advance is not really correct since you have performed the work. It goes back to the days when you got a very small advance at the end of the month and most of the pay on the 15th.
Exactly correct. In fact the PWA specifically avoids the use of "advance" just to clarify that. The actual contractual language (section 4.G) while a bit lengthy, states the following.
Monthly Pay
A pilot will receive his earnings for a bid period in the form of two semi-monthly payroll checks:
1. An end-of-month (EOM) partial payment on the last business day of the corresponding calendar month in the amount of one-half of the reserve guarantee at his composite hourly pay rate as of the date of the payment, and
2. A consolidation payment on the last business day prior to the 16th of the following calendar month for the difference between his total earnings for the bid period and the amount of his EOM partial payment, if applicable.