Originally Posted by
LavChange
ALPA is one of the root problems in this industry. Yeah, they're are good for safety issues in my opinion, but for negotiating pay? No way. Why is there a payscale in the first place? Why does a junior FO make $16,000 a year and a senior captain at the same company make $160,000? At least that's true at my company. Instead why doesn't ALPA negotiate salary. Why can't FOs make $50,000/year and Captains make $100,000, with the exception maybe of a probationary first year. I'm just throwing out numbers...the point I'm trying to make is that a salary system is better than a payscale. Think about it, everyone would come out ahead if you do the math because it takes you less time to achieve a higher salary. And, if you get laid off, instead of going to another $16,000/year job, you get a $50,000/year job at another airline because its salaried too. If an accountant gets laid off do they go back to making poverty level wages just because they have to change companys? No, they go to another company and probably make more because of prior work experience. So why is it the opposite with an airline pilot? Thanks ALPA.
I agree with you. When I tell people that if there's a layoff or shut down you go back to 20 or 30k per year if you find another airline, they think it's just ridiculous. The problem with the union is that the pay scales are also kept in place for years and years making it difficult for them to adjust. 65K was great money back in the 1990s but not the same now in 2009. Top ALPA carriers have their benefits but the majority of us are stuck with poverty pay that hasn't changed for decades. There definitely needs to be change.