Originally Posted by freezingflyboy

This has been stewing and simmering and bothering me over the last few years, and this isn't just an ASA/XJT thing but: somehow, somewhere along the line management was able to brainwash every airline employee in America into thinking that their paycheck was the difference between a profit and a loss; the difference between a sustainable operation and a catastrophic shutdown. Now, while that was going on, management pay and benefits, especially at the upper echelons, has skyrocketed to many many many times what your average rank and file employee takes home. And what does that premium get you? Destructive mergers and revolving-door bankruptcies. My issues with this are twofold:

1.) One only has to look at Southwest, FedEx, Delta and any of the large, established foreign carriers to see that this is total BS. Your paycheck is NOT the difference between a profit and and loss.

2.) IF employee compensation is part of the problem, lets take a top-down approach. Cutting pay 2-6% from the top is like cutting pay 50-60% at the bottom. So rather than coming after my pay and benefits with a cleaver, why not go after those at the top with a paring knife?

Now, I think the blame rests squarely in OUR laps for allowing this group-think to fester and perpetuate itself in this industry since deregulation. Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us for 40 years, well... The reality is that truly sustainable profitability can only be had from organizational efficiencies. Again, look at the most consistently profitable companies both inside this industry and out. They aren't profitable because they pay their people chump change. They are profitable because they are EFFICIENT. Without getting specific, I think we can all agree that current tactics used by managements do nothing to foster willingness among employees to operate efficiently. So what I say to management is this: Only through efficiency is there profitability. Motivate me to be efficient. The first step towards that end is to keep your grubby mitts off my meager paycheck! What I would say to employees is this: Only when we stop being the low-hanging fruit will the cycle be broken.

Originally Posted by Av8rking

While this an excellent post overall, and it brings up many problems with the private sector as a whole and our plight in the current environment, I'm afraid your analogy of cutting the tops pay by 2-6% compared to our pay by 50-60% is grossly inaccurate. Since Skywest Inc. is a public company, all the higher ups pay and total compensation is viewable with a quick google search.

With roughly 4400 pilots at ExpressJet, and an additional 3200 at SkyWest, a 50% pay cut for all pilots would be about $190,000,000 per year. (based on an average salary of $50,000 per year; a low estimate according to the average salary of our pilots on google)

The only published record I could find was of the top 5 highest paid executives and that number was $3,650,000 combined (not total salary, but total compensation including stock options)

If there were another 200 "Top Executives" making $200,000 per year (which I don't believe is the case) that would be another $40,000,000. If this entire group of the top 205 were to take a 6% pay cut, that would only total $2,600,000 in cuts. That is a far cry from the $190,000,000 from the pilot group.

I understand your post was mostly to drive home a point, but using make-believe numbers to prove your point only degrades the validity of your argument.

Originally Posted by ross9238

Let's take that $190 million in savings from a paycut to your front line employees. Is there anything that will stop the 5 executives and less than 200 other executives from giving themselves a raise from this savings?

Originally Posted by Av8rking

There is no way in hell the pilots in this group would take a 50% pay cut.

Originally Posted by Av8rking

This does not make sense. I was simply making a comparison based on what the original poster had quoted. There is no way in hell the pilots in this group would take a 50% pay cut. I was just simply proving a point.

Originally Posted by stbloc

Whats hiring like right now? Are hey having a hard time with the 1500 hour rule?

Originally Posted by freezingflyboy

Now, I think the blame rests squarely in OUR laps for allowing this group-think to fester and perpetuate itself in this industry since deregulation. Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us for 40 years, well... The reality is that truly sustainable profitability can only be had from organizational efficiencies. Again, look at the most consistently profitable companies both inside this industry and out. They aren't profitable because they pay their people chump change. They are profitable because they are EFFICIENT. Without getting specific, I think we can all agree that current tactics used by managements do nothing to foster willingness among employees to operate efficiently. So what I say to management is this: Only through efficiency is there profitability. Motivate me to be efficient. The first step towards that end is to keep your grubby mitts off my meager paycheck! What I would say to employees is this: Only when we stop being the low-hanging fruit will the cycle be broken.

Originally Posted by SiShane

I interviewed two weeks ago at 1120 TT but haven't heard anything back yet. I'm at 1165 now. Just plugging along waiting, no news is good news I hear.