Uh...what? My "QOL" is pretty good right now, as is most all of ours. This TA won't affect that one iota. In fact, especially in these winter months, the hefty pay raise that we just got will enable anyone in a decently manned category (which this time of year is many of them) to personally drop a 3-4 day trip, and receive the same take home pay that he or she is getting now. Now THAT'S a "QOL" enhancement. Further, we already have a "form of a retirement." It's called a 15% DC plan, soon to be 16%. Check out "compound interest" and extrapolate that over a long career for our newer hires and tell me why they should still want a DB plan?

If by "retirement" you mean a traditional DB plan...I would be highly inclined to vote AGAINST any future TA that contained a DB plan. They are lies and nothing else. Those promises WILL be broken again, as they have in the past.

Now if by retirement you mean even greater DC contributions, then I am on board. Even more immediate would be far better medical plans.

 

Do you have a statistical breakdown or other data to support your theory? Perhaps an educated guess on the percentage of Delta pilots who are unhappy right now?

My gut feeling is there is about 15% of our pilot group that is perpetually unhappy/angry. They're easy to spot, and make trips with them a struggle. Some of them are on wife 2/3/4/_. Some are just B-Negative blood type.

I agree with you. No surprises.

According to one of my reps, the TA met the survey. The priorities were matched. He addressed us at a council meeting and said he opposed TA1 because they didn't, but supported TA2 because they did.

Do you think there might be a correlation between the percentage of pilots who are unhappy, and the way those same pilots prioritized their items in the survey?

Prediction: They'll go after the priorities in the survey.

Would you have it any other way? If so, please explain.

 

That might partially be the case. However at some point we'll be seeing a rapid leveling off of the rates of increases in pay rates. If anyone thinks we can gain 30% raises every few years into perpetuity, grab a calculator and try it out for 20-30+ years HAHA!

The good news in that is that while we are still due greater than inflation raises, they are running out of section 3 pay table room to "wow" us as a bribe to claw back other sections of our contract. The fact that we held the line on more large RJ's is huge, and the JV scope had gives and takes but I think that's pretty much it for them. For future contracts IMO we need to be going for QOL, medical and scope above all else.

 

As you know, these surveys can easily be crafted on the front end and results contorted on the back end like an "evil genie" and be made to say basically anything in the hands of the right statistician.

I wish for a million dollars. Poof, here's your money!

Oh by the way it belongs to a drug lord and he knows you have it and where you live. But you got your wish, enjoy!

See how easy that was?

Its very common for pilots to list pay as a top priority. Of course it is. But doing so does not mean there is a mandate to concede in other areas to achieve it. Many of the questions are classic Sophie's choices where no matter how you answer, you're agreeing to sacrifice something for something else.

Pay will always be one of, if not the, highest item listed on a survey where you rank your priorities. But that does not mean that selling more scope or work rules is the answer unless that was specifically stated in the survey, and we all know it absolutely won't be.

 

Speaking of.....can we see the results of the survey now???

 

We could but it would be stupid. You can speak with your reps and they will give you a pretty good idea.

 

OE trip pulls, WB ALV increase, and TDY/VB and you think our QOL got better?

So if we just keep increasing the ALV we will all have more time at home. Sweet!

 

I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom, but -- I taught her never to dishonor her family. She found a boyfriend; not an Italian. She went to the movies with him; she stayed out late. I didn't protest. Two months ago, he took her for a drive, with another boyfriend. They made her drink whiskey. And then they tried to take advantage of her. She resisted. She kept her honor. So they beat her, like an animal. When I went to the hospital, her nose was a'broken. Her jaw was a'shattered, held together by wire. She couldn't even weep because of the pain. But I wept. Why did I weep? She was the light of my life -- beautiful girl. Now she will never be beautiful again.

Sorry...

I -- I went to the police, like a good American. These two boys were brought to trial. The judge sentenced them to three years in prison -- suspended sentence. Suspended sentence!

They went free that very day! I stood in the courtroom like a fool. And those two bastard, they smiled at me. Then I said to my wife, "for justice, we must go to Don Corleone."

 

 

I can say that is impossible.

I am usually fast asleep by BHM and tell my FO that unless a fire goes out not to wake me up until we cross Twentynine Palms