So I hate to bring up this topic on here cause I'm sure there are going to be some old guys complaining about us complaining about not getting our bonuses but here I go....

Have any of you been effected by non-payment of your bonus? The company recently published an announcement (for select pilots) that they would not be paying out bonuses until "final staffing decisions have been made." And, frankly, I'm not mad at Air Wis for doing it. If I can help the company emerge from this stronger by foregoing my $10,000, I'll happily do it. ALPA on the other hand, they are misrepresenting us and I'm not sure if they're just being lazy, don't care, saturated with other tasks, or a mix of the three.

If you call up your reps or anyone else in ALPA you'll probably hear statements that are non-committal and provide little information (i.e. "we're working on it", "we're not sure", "we'll let you know", etc.). Further, each one will offer different information--one will say "we're working on it" and 5 minutes later someone else will say "yea, we can't do anything, sorry". Don't believe me? Try it. Call multiple ALPA leaders back to back.

So in an effort to clear up some of the confusion/myths and pose questions to the group, I'm posting them below.

MYTHS

• We shouldn't get the $10,000 because once we're furloughed we'll have to pay it back anyways.
  • False: the bonus agreement only outlines repayment terms in a "termination" scenario. Both ALPA and the company believe that furlough is not termination. Get your $10,000 and use it to live off of while you're furloughed.
• ALPA has nothing to do with the bonus. That's an agreement between the individual pilot and the company.
  • False: read LOA 37, Section B in the new contract (roughly page 220). Per the agreement between ALPA and the company, they are required to pay a minimum bonus of $5,000. If the company decided they didn't want to pay a sign-on bonus anymore, they would have to sign a new LOA with the union. ALPA is, in fact, the one who authorized a bonus so any argument of "we have nothing to do with bonuses" is invalid.
    • "The Company shall offer a minimum recruiting incentive amount of $5,000..."
• If you save the company money now, they will furlough less pilots come October 1. Do you really wan't your $10,000 at the expense of someone getting furloughed?
  • False: the company's calculation of how many pilots to keep on payroll is simple. How many pilots do we need? I really do like Air Wis and I think they treat us relatively well, but I doubt they'll say "Oh the pilots saved us $1,000,000 so lets keep a few extra on the payroll."
• The bonus agreement says that you haven't 'earned' your bonus yet. They will pay it once you've 'earned' it.
  • False: the bonus contract does differentiate between 'owed' and 'earned'. But it very clearly states the timeline for depositing the money into your bank account, which they have not done and have said they will not do moving forward. The bonus contract does not give them discretion to change when it is paid.

QUESTIONS

• Can ALPA take money out of our bonus?
  • Ask Air Wis payroll and they will tell you your bonus is subject to dues. Call ALPA's national office and ask them if it is subject to dues. They will say it is and point you to the constitution and by-laws. Ask our local ALPA and they'll all scratch their heads and say "hmmmm... I'm not sure." They can't have "nothing to do with the bonuses" and then simultaneously be taking dues out of it. This question has been asked for almost three weeks now and we still don't have an answer.
• How many pilots are effected by this and how much money is missing from the pilot group?
  • I'm estimating about 100 pilots, which would be about $1,000,000 missing from the pilot group. ALPA has no clue though.
• Can I negotiate anything with Air Wis?
  • It's hard to reconcile "you can't ask for a hotel room when you pick up a trip, but you can ask for $41,000." Using this logic, I could make a deal with Air Wis to get a new car in return for flying 1,000 hours this year because I don't see anything about getting cars in the contract.

SOLUTIONS

• Air Wis has said they are open to working with the company to find solutions to help the effected pilots. But that was nearly a month ago. There are an infinite number of solutions/remedies that can be put in place, but ALPA has to be involved. In fact, they have a list of about a dozen ideas that do no harm to the other pilots, cost the company little/no cash today, and help the effected pilots. ALPA is dragging their feet and misrepresenting us.
• If you're effected by this, call your reps. File a grievance. Email/text every person in ALPA. If they say "I'll let you know" ask "When?". Set a date to follow up with them (i.e. I'll call you back Friday at noon to get an update). I know lots of pilots who need this money, could use relief on short-call reserve in a new base, could benefit from having the commuter clause relaxed, could benefit from being told their reserve times 8 hours earlier for day 1, etc. They just started their careers, moved to new cities (to be told to move to another city), got married, had kids, bought a car/house, and this bonus money can go a long way helping them.

Air Wis wants to talk and help, but ALPA is dragging their feet at our expense. Hold ALPA accountable!