With the addition of the 30 900s as well as 1% flat increase in April(?) 2015 the new 4 year FO cap is within like 15 cents of the old 8 year rate. The 1% happens every year and WAS NOT in the original contract so in a couple years our 4 year rate will actually be higher than the old 8 year rate ever would've been in the original deal. The 4 year cap essentially doesn't matter.

The increase for the most expensive family plan at the full maturation of the health care increase is $60/month. Yes, unfortunately it is more but it is not budget shattering. For my single plan the increase is $8/month.

As far as "schedule manipulation" Even at normal staffing levels the company, and union stated during negotiations for the ORIGINAL contract that something like 18% of days are critical anyway. The way the language is written if 1 out of every 5 days are critical it wouldn't be much of a problem the get some critical pay.

On the off chance that no days are critical You can still drop flying down to 65 hours and then pick back up your original(or similar) trips later at 125%. This situation is obviously not as rosy as the current one but it is no worse than any other regional.

So there's the relevant numbers.

 

I'm proof of that....I'm an 8 year PSA Captain based and live in CLT. At the end of August I was on pace to make $120K for the year. But seeing how my wife works as well I decided to fly a little less in September. With the SAP and a weeks of vacation included I was able to drop down to 44 hours (44+21 for the weeks vacation=65). So now I have 21 total days off with 18 of them starting on the 13th and going to the end of the month. For October, I plan on opening up the early part of the month so I could possibly have 30+ days in a row off. End result....I will probably end the year at $110K.

Now I ask....does this look like your schedule and pay? It's easy to point the finger and claim "PSA lowered the bar". But when I hear that it shows me they really don't have a good understanding of our contract. I suspect most reading this will be surprised an 8 year Captain will be making $110k+ with 20+ days off when he wants. But I can assure you I am proof of that. If that is lowering the bar....well you might want to rethink where your bar is.

 

I've tried to explain this stuff on here but no one is interested.

 

How scummy of him to make so much money

That's crap pay. Thanks a lot.

 

Well, if you believe the pundits that say you can safely take 4% a year out to preserve principle, you'd need a million to pull 40K a year out in retirement. So at present rate I'll be on the poverty plan.

As a side note the 401K was never designed as a stand alone retirement vehicle. It was envisioned as a tax haven for already highly compensated executives. "We know we're already paying you $500,000 a year and any raises will get sacked with taxes so how about if we match your money in a tax deferred account?"

Companies quickly figured they could save costs by dropping pensions and adding 401Ks, and they duped the middle and lower class working poor into thinking they had done them a favor.

The number of people that use their 401Ks as a makeshift saving account before retirement - taking money out and paying the taxes and the penalty - is staggering.

 

I don't know many people who think, as recipients, that a defined-contribution plan is better than a defined-benefit plan. But a lot do realize that it's sustainable. Especially in industries with flat or negative job growth and rising retiree costs.

But my broader point was that I think your frustration is misguided. Of course it's management's job to keep costs low and profits high. That's never going to change. Skilled managements can thrive while taking care of their employees and their customers. But some companies view employees as liabilities instead of assets, and unfortunately that view seems prevalent in the regional level right now. (I know, I was there not too long ago.) I'll add that the Envoy group has my highest respects for not playing along with this.

 

ALL regional airlines suck compared to the majors. Envoy pilots fell on the sword and took a stand when no one else would. Unfortunately, management was NOT bluffing and now they will be slowly shrunk into non existence like Comair. Even ALPA agrees that there is not a shortage. There will never be a lack of pilots unless all regionals are represented as one. Who cares though? Senior regional captains and stagnant FOs are the only ones pi**ed off enough to vote for this. So I guess if you are an 8 year FO at Envoy or Endeavor what is stopping you from going to PSA for a year, upgrading, and then getting on at Spirit, JB, etc.... You all are bickering back an forth about starting FO pay! Who cares. The music is playing right now and if you don't upgrade and move on, hundreds of others will in your place. Leave your failing regional, let it crumble behind you, and move on with your career.

 

Someone has done his homework! Impressed. I would add that this could not have happened without duplicitous politicians.

I would urge all to watch this:
The Truth Behind Hidden Fees in 401(k) Plans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08UPQ3JaRek

 

You're saying that you can make "$110K+ with 20+ days off every single month? I find that hard to believe even with SAP.
I make that but am not getting off more than 20 days every month.
You're saying over 110 is consistently possible working only 9 days a month, and this won't change as soon as they catch up on staffing???
Reallllllly hard to believe.
The other poster mentioned 150K, the only way I can see that is if you include per diem, bonuses, 401K match, and companies share of health insurance(which I don't). The company tries to by calling it "total compensation", but not in agreement with that method.

 

The 1% doesn't come close to even keeping you even with inflation, let alone ahead of it, so that argument doesn't really hold water. Or do you have automatic COLA increases as well?