Originally Posted by
forgot to bid
ah, there is something there missing here that would drive home their point. They show annual salary but that creates a misnomer in peoples mind "what they get paid $117k and complain?"
what they need to publish is 2010 pay, 2000 pay, 1990 pay, 1980 pay, 1970 pay and 1960 pay all adjusted for inflation.
That would drive home the point about the stress level because of the decline in pay quicker than nick fairley can drive a quarterback into the ground! Oh wait, wrong thread. Let me go back to my other thread. :d
this! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Talk about stress level! Not many things in life are more stressful than having a career, for which you've worked very hard and you and your family have sacrificed greatly for, suddenly cut in HALF with no expectation or apparent plan to ever recover.
I had something happen a few years ago that I think illustrates this point very well. It was just after we had taken the full 42% pay cut and had our pension terminated. Most of us were in a daze. Because of our experience and professionalism, we pressed on and operated our flights safely. But make no mistake, this was a HUGE distraction and very difficult for most of us to shake off. It was about this time that Delta came out with the policy of having to brief the "highest threat." During that time, I used to brief that the highest threat was the stress and distraction of having our pay cut by 42% and our retirement decimated. Unless there was some really obvious threat for that leg, there was no doubt that this was indeed "the highest threat."
So here's the story...
We were taking off on runway 30 at IAD. 10,000' runway on a nice day with a light passenger load. At about 60 knots on the takeoff roll, the right engine just flamed out. No big deal, really. We were barely just starting to roll. Plenty of room to leisurely stop with almost 10,000' of runway remaining. We taxied clear of the runway and back to the gate.
We hadn't been back to the gate for more than about 10 minutes, when the phone rang. It was the duty pilot wanting to know if we, as a crew, were "okay to continue" flying for the day. This is standard Delta policy whenever anything like this happens. They call to ask this. And I presume the reason they call to ask this is two fold. 1) They want to make sure no one is shaken up too much and/or too distracted to safely and effectively perform their duties. and 2) They want to cover their butts legally.
So... this brings up an interesting question. Which is more stressful and distracting? 1) Losing an engine at 60 knots on a takeoff roll on a 10,000' runway on a nice day with a light load? or 2) Having the career you've worked so hard for and sacrificed so much for suddenly destroyed?
I certainly know which one I think is WAY more stressful and distracting!