ShyGuy

Any new airline will be a new organization run with climbing managers. A new airline isn't going to start with a 22 year old fresh college graduate CEO. Airline management jobs will be landed by those with good internal connections, like being buddies with someone on the board. I never thought a new airline would be run by non-airline experienced personnel. If a new airline launched tomorrow (like talks of Peopleexpress out of PIT or ORF), I fully expect it to be led by previous airline managers. I've gotten it, no worries. This place isn't perfect. Knee jerk stuff sometimes (KD story), but it was corrected. Everyone has their worst top 3 list, but one of them is leaving.

As for this topic, it was a pay inconvenience at best caused by the 3rd party vendor. They accidently setup so checks were cut instead of direct deposits. I didnt check my mail Feb 1 but Feb 2 I checked and I already had the paper check. And seriously, bills not being paid? My bank and automatic payment expenses aren't based on a 35 hr guarantee deposit clearing through the 31st in a paycheck-to-paycheck style. Why live that close to the edge? I like to pad my primary checking account by a little bit, so that expenses are taken care of at all times.

RJtrashPilot

That's fine and dandy, Shy. But for some of us, including myself, it's the principle of the thing. I realize this isn't the company's fault, and they are trying hard to correct the situation. However, there's one thing you shouldn't mess with and that's my pay. Mess with my schedule, mess with my days off fine, I get it, it's an airline. But I'll be jack snap, don't mess with my pay!!

Additionally, not everyone is in the same situation financially as you. If you're in a position that you can stretch your bills across the month, that's great for you and I hope you can keep it like that for the rest of your life. Some people have mortgages, child support,kids to put through school, medical situations that require extra income, etc... Consider yourself lucky, but get off your high horse and stop acting like Dave Ramsay and giving people advice on how they should structure their bill cycles. It's not always that easy. Life happens and some people legitimately have to live paycheck to paycheck. Some through irresponsible decisions, but others because of how their cards were dealt to them in life through no fault of their own. So tone down the rhetoric a bit, man.

But I will give credit where credit is due. The company is going out of their way to rectify this situation and my hat is off to them for going way above and beyond to take care of crews this weekend!

putzin

Shy the things that really bother me is why we have to takes months or years to fix things that shouldn't have been that way in the first place. Pay, insurance, reserve. There isn't a person here, in a managers position, that hasn't been in the industry for 15 years. They know what's fair, they know what's not. The benefits don't have to be at top of the industry but they shouldn't be at the bottom either.

I am not into spoiling your fantasy about what you think Virgin is so I've kept my mouth shut. You won't hear from me any further either because I have much better things to do than argue with you about a second rate job. You needed a reality check, it was time and never let a good crisis go to waste.

Virgin is not the worst place, I'll give you that. It's definitely not as advertised either. I'm glad you love it here, that makes one of us. You'll have my spot soon as Virgin has now served my purpose.

slavenaway

It is too bad that part of the correction was to fire the Base CP who wouldn't change his official and accurate report of the KD incident so they could keep KD off the property. Oh yeah, they yanked his LCA letter for good measure.

So much for doing the right thing.

ShyGuy

That's fair enough, and I agree, but we have different definitions. For me, "messing up my pay" is not when they send out a paper check instead of a direct deposit. I still got paid, this time, the old fationed way. Messing up my pay to me is no direct deposit, and no paper check. Basically, no pay. That would be upsetting. Or incorrect pay that takes too long to correct. So far, I've been lucky.

Fair enough, I feel bad for anyone who is truly relying on a 35 hr guarantee (which is our lowest check, because it is only the 35 hr guarantee and nothing else, no per diem, no overages above 70 - that comes in mid month). If one is really on this borderline, I fear they may be running negative on a monthly basis. Hopefully that situation can rectify itself. It is hardest on first year pay, but second year pay gets better.

I agree. They are going far above and beyond for a simple error of a paper check getting sent out.

ShyGuy

As I said, sometimes kneejerk reactions. I don't want to get involved in internal politics.


Pay/Compensation will always be a measure of your company's bottom line/profitability. I can guarantee you even if VAPA passed and after a bunch of stalling in negotiations, we'd be sitting down with the NMB and the company's red ink papers in front of them saying "we just don't have the money for this asking." People have expectations, I do too. I do think I should be paid more when compared to my peers at JetBlue, Delta, and United. I know we won't achieve Delta/United wages for a carrier our size and scope, but I think our current pay/QOL issues should be better. But I'm also realistic in what we can achieve in our current airline's predicament. Now if you want to hold accountability for those who have led us to where we are, I am with you 100% on that.

RJtrashPilot

Wow! Just wow.

A wise man once told me, "Youth is wasted on the youthful."

ShyGuy

What?


filler

JamesNoBrakes

That's like saying the FO busted altitude or something and you aren't going to have to take the fall because he was on the controls. Ultimately, the company is responsible. Messing up people's pay is one of the worst things a company can do. Any reputable company should bend over backwards to make it right if anything can be done at that point and beg for forgiveness for screwing that up. Any good HR person knows that you don't screw with an employee's pay, whether it's the amount they are owed, the time they are supposed to get it, or the format they are expecting.

ShyGuy

I agree, but I got a paper check by Feb 2, and direct deposit that day. To me it doesn't cause heartburn. It would if it was a VX fault but this was solely ADP's fault and what VX is doing is going above and beyond in response. If it isn't VX that caused it, all you can do is push to get ADP out. Personally, I've had good experiences with ADP.