2018 new TA
05-12-2018 | 12:36 PM
#24
Line Holder
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
new ta is garbage and the new hires who got the 57,000 are now getting another 8,000. Congrats on ****ing on the pilot group.
I'm sure it will pass because we all want more money, and starting over at another regional is overwhelming to think about, but this is a super sh!tty situation we are in.
I'm sure it will pass because we all want more money, and starting over at another regional is overwhelming to think about, but this is a super sh!tty situation we are in.
05-12-2018 | 12:36 PM
#25
New Hire
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
It's garbage.
"Earlier today, the ARW MEC voted 5-1 to send the 2018 Tentative Agreement out for ratification by the full Air Wisconsin pilot group. Attached to this email is a link to the full-language TA that was agreed upon by the Company and Association in PHX on April 26th. We want to give you a brief overview of the document and give you a quick update since our last communication and subsequent coffee and conversation events.
Before you begin a deep-dive of the full language, here is a summary of the high points of the TA:
· A combination of bonuses and a small pay increase on top of our continuing annual 1.5% increase, plus various improvements in several other areas
· Our industry-leading health care premium contribution remains at 25%
· A short duration that allows us to return to the bargaining table and start fresh in 24 months.
How We Got Here
Leading up to the PHX mediation session, the MEC published several communications and held two weeks of coffee and conversation events where we explained what our strategy was going forward in the hopes of concluding contract negotiations. We acknowledged that what could reasonably be expected to come out of PHX would be well below the expectations of the pilot group due to the realities of our current environment regardless of what the market is demanding. We felt that the offer the Company presented to us last fall was not sufficient for ratification and therefore we needed the Company to move in the direction of what we proposed in August. In typical fashion, at the final hour of the final day, the Company finally made the move we believed was necessary to present this agreement to you for ratification.
Pay and Bonuses
In the most recent round of polling, you made it clear that you preferred wage rate increases over the bonus structure that we have seen throughout the industry these past few years. We agree and understand why this is more beneficial. That said, the Company has repeatedly been unwilling to entertain higher wage rates, and this was causing a stalemate up to and including in PHX.
What the Company finally proposed is a combination of wage rate and bonus/retention money. While not ideal, it does put significantly more money into the pilots’ pockets than what was being offered previously, with the bonuses alone being more than $8,000 per pilot in the first year. In total, the proposed raises and bonuses would come out on this schedule:
July 23, 2018 $3,000 bonus
November 30, 2018 $2,000 (minimum) bonus
July 15, 2019 $3,000 bonus
July 1, 2020 1.0% raise
The Company agreed that any funds that would have otherwise been allocated to pilots receiving the July 2018 bonus but who have left Air Wisconsin before the November 30, 2018 payment will be reallocated to those still on the property on November 30, 2018. Depending on how many pilots leave the airline this year, this will add a small sum to the November 30, 2018 payment. Even though we strongly prefer wage increases as a general matter, in this case the bonus monies are worth more from a time/value of money perspective than the wage rate increases that were proposed on day one. This is why we say the November 30, 2018 payout is a minimum of $2000.
The wage increase will layer on top of continuing 1.5% annual pay increases.
Healthcare Premium
Our premium share is the lowest in our segment – pilots at other airlines pay as much as 30% or more – and it is not changed in this TA. Our pilot group has consistently insisted on keeping this share where it is. In fact, one of the major reasons for the rejection of the 2015 TA was language that would have raised the pilot share of our health insurance premiums from the current 25% to 27%.
The company attempted again to increase the healthcare premium in this round of negotiations, but we were successful in holding the line at 25%. We also defeated all other company attempts to impose benefit concessions on the pilot group, including, for example, raising the medical plan out of pocket expenses paid by pilots and their families.
Duration
Another important aspect of the TA is that we now have the ability, at our discretion, to reopen the contract at the end of Year Two, one year prior to the amendable date if we decide conditions are right to do so. In other words, we can be back at the table 24 months after this TA is signed and goes into effect. If the company is successful in increasing pilot staffing to its target level of 715 pilots (or more), we expect both that pilots’ quality of life will improve substantially and that the Company will be able to afford greater increases.
Why Now?
You may be thinking, “why did we bargain for seven years to only get small gains?” The short answer is that despite the TA’s shortcomings we believed the better choice is to give you the opportunity to decide whether to take the money the Company put on the table and get it into your hands now. Why let them keep millions of dollars of your money for another year or more? This TA allows you to take advantage of the time value of money, putting extra cash in your pocket now while you make your future plans. It also preserves our health insurance premiums and annual 1.5% wage rate increase, which you told us was another top priority. Finally, it sets us up to reopen negotiations in two years, when we expect that the airline will have more profits to share with the group.
The Tentative Agreement
You can access the New Tentative Agreement on the ARW Contract website. Additionally, like we had done with the 2015 TA, we have opened up the email address [email protected] for you to submit questions related to the TA. As questions come in, they will be reviewed and answered, and those answers will be posted on the ARW Contract website (You will not receive an individual response to emails sent to this address). We recommend you check back on the website regularly to keep up-to-date with the questions your fellow pilots have about the TA.
Final Thoughts
In our considered opinion, the MEC and Negotiating Committee felt that after seven years of bargaining we had hit a wall with the company and were unlikely to come to a solution in the near term. Rather than spend another year or more in fruitless bargaining, an overwhelming majority of your elected MEC representatives felt it was better to take the money being offered to us now, and to come back to fight another day.
This TA includes real money -- $8,000 for every pilot over the next 365 days, plus a small raise in the following year. We fought off the company’s attempts to increase our health insurance premiums. We have the opportunity to be back at the table in two years.
The MEC believes you deserve the right to decide whether you want $8,000 and a raise. The ultimate decision on whether to accept this TA, of course, is up to you.
Stay tuned for more information on the TA information process and voting schedule in the days to come.
Fraternally,
Your ARW MEC"
"Earlier today, the ARW MEC voted 5-1 to send the 2018 Tentative Agreement out for ratification by the full Air Wisconsin pilot group. Attached to this email is a link to the full-language TA that was agreed upon by the Company and Association in PHX on April 26th. We want to give you a brief overview of the document and give you a quick update since our last communication and subsequent coffee and conversation events.
Before you begin a deep-dive of the full language, here is a summary of the high points of the TA:
· A combination of bonuses and a small pay increase on top of our continuing annual 1.5% increase, plus various improvements in several other areas
· Our industry-leading health care premium contribution remains at 25%
· A short duration that allows us to return to the bargaining table and start fresh in 24 months.
How We Got Here
Leading up to the PHX mediation session, the MEC published several communications and held two weeks of coffee and conversation events where we explained what our strategy was going forward in the hopes of concluding contract negotiations. We acknowledged that what could reasonably be expected to come out of PHX would be well below the expectations of the pilot group due to the realities of our current environment regardless of what the market is demanding. We felt that the offer the Company presented to us last fall was not sufficient for ratification and therefore we needed the Company to move in the direction of what we proposed in August. In typical fashion, at the final hour of the final day, the Company finally made the move we believed was necessary to present this agreement to you for ratification.
Pay and Bonuses
In the most recent round of polling, you made it clear that you preferred wage rate increases over the bonus structure that we have seen throughout the industry these past few years. We agree and understand why this is more beneficial. That said, the Company has repeatedly been unwilling to entertain higher wage rates, and this was causing a stalemate up to and including in PHX.
What the Company finally proposed is a combination of wage rate and bonus/retention money. While not ideal, it does put significantly more money into the pilots’ pockets than what was being offered previously, with the bonuses alone being more than $8,000 per pilot in the first year. In total, the proposed raises and bonuses would come out on this schedule:
July 23, 2018 $3,000 bonus
November 30, 2018 $2,000 (minimum) bonus
July 15, 2019 $3,000 bonus
July 1, 2020 1.0% raise
The Company agreed that any funds that would have otherwise been allocated to pilots receiving the July 2018 bonus but who have left Air Wisconsin before the November 30, 2018 payment will be reallocated to those still on the property on November 30, 2018. Depending on how many pilots leave the airline this year, this will add a small sum to the November 30, 2018 payment. Even though we strongly prefer wage increases as a general matter, in this case the bonus monies are worth more from a time/value of money perspective than the wage rate increases that were proposed on day one. This is why we say the November 30, 2018 payout is a minimum of $2000.
The wage increase will layer on top of continuing 1.5% annual pay increases.
Healthcare Premium
Our premium share is the lowest in our segment – pilots at other airlines pay as much as 30% or more – and it is not changed in this TA. Our pilot group has consistently insisted on keeping this share where it is. In fact, one of the major reasons for the rejection of the 2015 TA was language that would have raised the pilot share of our health insurance premiums from the current 25% to 27%.
The company attempted again to increase the healthcare premium in this round of negotiations, but we were successful in holding the line at 25%. We also defeated all other company attempts to impose benefit concessions on the pilot group, including, for example, raising the medical plan out of pocket expenses paid by pilots and their families.
Duration
Another important aspect of the TA is that we now have the ability, at our discretion, to reopen the contract at the end of Year Two, one year prior to the amendable date if we decide conditions are right to do so. In other words, we can be back at the table 24 months after this TA is signed and goes into effect. If the company is successful in increasing pilot staffing to its target level of 715 pilots (or more), we expect both that pilots’ quality of life will improve substantially and that the Company will be able to afford greater increases.
Why Now?
You may be thinking, “why did we bargain for seven years to only get small gains?” The short answer is that despite the TA’s shortcomings we believed the better choice is to give you the opportunity to decide whether to take the money the Company put on the table and get it into your hands now. Why let them keep millions of dollars of your money for another year or more? This TA allows you to take advantage of the time value of money, putting extra cash in your pocket now while you make your future plans. It also preserves our health insurance premiums and annual 1.5% wage rate increase, which you told us was another top priority. Finally, it sets us up to reopen negotiations in two years, when we expect that the airline will have more profits to share with the group.
The Tentative Agreement
You can access the New Tentative Agreement on the ARW Contract website. Additionally, like we had done with the 2015 TA, we have opened up the email address [email protected] for you to submit questions related to the TA. As questions come in, they will be reviewed and answered, and those answers will be posted on the ARW Contract website (You will not receive an individual response to emails sent to this address). We recommend you check back on the website regularly to keep up-to-date with the questions your fellow pilots have about the TA.
Final Thoughts
In our considered opinion, the MEC and Negotiating Committee felt that after seven years of bargaining we had hit a wall with the company and were unlikely to come to a solution in the near term. Rather than spend another year or more in fruitless bargaining, an overwhelming majority of your elected MEC representatives felt it was better to take the money being offered to us now, and to come back to fight another day.
This TA includes real money -- $8,000 for every pilot over the next 365 days, plus a small raise in the following year. We fought off the company’s attempts to increase our health insurance premiums. We have the opportunity to be back at the table in two years.
The MEC believes you deserve the right to decide whether you want $8,000 and a raise. The ultimate decision on whether to accept this TA, of course, is up to you.
Stay tuned for more information on the TA information process and voting schedule in the days to come.
Fraternally,
Your ARW MEC"
05-12-2018 | 12:42 PM
#26
Line Holder
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 219
Likes: 0
It's a complete joke. There is no way this company is going to be able to ever hire new (competent) pilots with an extra 8000 dollars for the year. Pilots here want quality of life and the only way that is going to happen is if we get substantial raises, otherwise this company isn't going to make it after the 5 years is up. That's the "financial reality".
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