Originally Posted by
Denny Crane
Huh? Not understanding this comment. Every raise we have gotten in the past has been a percentage. That is what we are taking about.......is a 5% hourly raise worth more or less than a 5% DC increase? I don’t understand your logic.
It's sold to use as a percentage, but it's costed by the company in Dollars. The percentage increase achievable in either case will be based on the same dollar amount, so the value of either will end up being the same. I'm telling you that it's not a choice between a 5% pay increase and 5% DC increase.
I disagree that the advantage will be lost. You still have the extra 5% in pay the next contract cycle. Just because another company leapfrogs you in payrate does not mean you lost anything.
Denny
You have the extra 5% pay in the next contract cycle, but you are now CLOSER to the other company that leapfrogged you in pay. This is why the advantage is lost. We always compare our hourly pay to that at other airlines. If you add pay in other venues, our hourly pay is lower for the compensation we receive. Thus, when we "correct" to the hourly pay that the other airlines have (or better) we are given a larger increase. Soft money is always an advantage to the pilot group in negotiations for this reason. Hourly pay is the worst place for us to put money because that's how airlines are compared to each other. The more places we put money that is not pay, the more we are helped when other airlines raise their rates.