This is what the Council 20 update said from March:

So reserve pilots working the same number of days for less pay was in the offer from the company back in March.

 

Are you already in the top-paying category you expect to stabilize in for a while? I'm not. ALV reduction, leading to the same wide body flying spread over more pilots, will accelerate my movement into higher paying (and for my circumstances, better qol) WBB and NBA jobs.

Believe it or not, plenty of folks don't need more money to be happier or gain "quality of life." As evidenced by hundreds of pilots taking a significant pay cut to shed obligations at work, there's a good number of us interested in a lower floor of hourly obligation to Delta. Clearly that isn't the case for everyone... and they can WS/swap/max credit themselves up to work more even with a reduced ALV.

 

Alpa is an association. You have a vote. So do I. There’s also a good number of us interested in not giving up pay via a lower ALV. I agree w/ you that plenty of “folks” don’t need more money to be happier... while I’m sure you were not specifically referring to me or preaching to me, I’ll point out that I was furloughed for 5+ years and have two in high school. College soon. It appears from your post you are younger and junior to me. You have a better future ahead of you, seniority wise than I do and will benefit from the contract we worked on before you arrived. So don’t worry, it’ll come. In the meantime enjoy the ride.


PS-Good luck trying to get Delta, now or ever, to agree to a permanent lower ALV. That means more pilots. It’ll never happen. Be realistic and if you ever get to the MEC realize that to negotiate for impossible wants is a waste of time.

 

You do also realize this is a seniority based system. So you can either chase seniority or money or a combination of both. I flew with captains back in 2001 when I was hired that were flight engineers on reserve for 8-10 years on the 727. Today most recently we had 1 year probationary captains. I don’t recall more of the junior folk back then ever bringing up lower ALVs. This industry is cyclical. It’ll come back and then like I said, you’ll even be better off then my seniority will ever be.

Be happy you or I never sat side saddle for 8-10 years on reserve... 5 of that on B scale.

 

I intend to preach to no one, so I'm sorry if you took it that way. Every situation is unique... I've got younger kids, a working spouse, and the GI bill to pay for half of college. I sat the lost decade out on the sidelines working various part time jobs for Uncle Sam. I recognize my needs aren't the same as anyone else's. That being said, I'd prefer the default to be a lower minimum amount of obligation to my employer, with mechanisms for those who want to work more to do so. The fact that I could (pre- and presumably post-covid) be awarded 89 hours of hard-time flying, three months in a row, during my kids' summer months with little to no opportunity to reduce that schedule, is ridiculous. Granted, IVDs have helped. But that ALV+7.5 hours of the LCW, simply to carry the middle where it is...or +15 to keep the bottom from being too low for those who want the hours... really adds up. I wish it didn't take a global pandemic and all that came with it to finally have some abundant time home with the family.

There are all sorts of ways we could provide relief at the high end to preserve earning potential for the masses who want to, or need to work (i.e., drop anything over the threshold with only half of the reserves required, paid APD, more summer vacation, etc.).

Like most of us, I have friends all over the net worth and income spectra. There's very little correlation in either of those metrics and their personal or familial happiness. As I actually think about it, I think my highest earner friend (ortho surgeon) is probably the least happy. But there's a strong inverse correlation between how much time my friends and their spouses spend at work and their satisfaction with life and parenthood. I'm just doing what I can to learn from those anecdotes, and the 1807 who took time over money, to avoid the pitfalls of chasing the almighty dollar. It's important and it's an enabler... but it doesn't come without some permanent tradeoffs. And my intent is not to preach, but merely to explain my motivations and the lens through which I see this career.

Oh, and I agree that chasing a permanent ALV reduction that would apply to all categories is a lost cause for reasons you mention. I simply like to make sure people recognize how far away the company's offer really is from what I, myself, would like to see in the PWA. Management has shown their true colors, and our collective QOL is nowhere on their radar.

 

I can’t tell you how happy I am to have not spent that amount of time on a B scale or sitting side saddle reserve... oh wait. I spent the majority of 7 years on reserve in an RJ and now after almost 3 years being split between reserve and regular here I’m getting furloughed. You’re right, everyone else had it so much worse than any one else could possibly have it now

 

As you know, PCS runs in seniority order. So, it's not those "who want to work more" that will get an opportunity to pick up a trip.

 

This is a union job, everything is in seniority order. Those who want to work more submit a PCS request to pick up open time. Those who don't want to work more don't submit a PCS request. It is no different than the initial monthly bid runs, trips are awarded in seniority order.

In your entire Delta career, how many times has your category not had open time available via PCS? Even with half of the company on reserve, I have found open time in 14 of the categories on my AE bid preferences. Pretending like there won't be open time for pilots who want to work more is comical.

 

I had no idea.

 

And somehow i should be sorry for you? Hey man I am sorry you might be furloughed. Wasn’t my plan and I certainly don’t like it. But to compare stories and try to gin up sympathy will not help. It stinks. I was furloughed for almost 6 years. But it’s the way it happens. Reserve on an RJ? Sorry man. We all have our stories. Should I complain to you that I lived on an aircraft carrier? No I won’t. It was my path. If you are owed so much or looking for sympathy you are barking up the wrong tree.

Go get in a time machine. Those guys hired in 88 had it real good. But life isn’t fair and we get what we are dealt. Some complain. Sorry. I’ll hope you all get back quickly. And in the meantime I will continue to press our union not to give a penny so you have a good contract to return to. I hope it’s sooner vs later.