Originally Posted by
Gary et al
I care about market rate also but that post was all about hypotheticals. The total cost of market rate per diem is roughly $7-9 an hour depending on the yearly hours flown and other things. Are you saying you wouldn't accept removing per diem all together for an additional $15/hr? It's just math, and the more your numbers add up to the better it is, it doesn't matter where they come from. And, I'd argue per diem is worth even less as, if you can itemize your taxes, the less you are reimbursed by the company the more you can deduct. Again, basic math. For the most part I don't care how the money is organized as long as the total works out to the correct number.
1) While the points on both side are valid, I wouldn’t accept 0 per diem. In economic times like these it’s easy to forget that we could be in bankruptcy in just 6 months from now. I’d be shocked if we were, but it’s not impossible. Would a bankruptcy judge force them to pay us per diem as he or she cut our pay by 30%? No. Same is true for PBS. If we give up our line bidding for higher rates and then go into bankruptcy, we won’t get line bidding back along with our pay cuts.
2) The tax deduction argument died with the new tax law. The shortage is no longer deductible.