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Fedex Pilots proposed retirement plan

Old 11-03-2017, 10:01 AM
  #431  
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Originally Posted by FXDX View Post
I hope the members of the MEC are prepared to be sued personally ...
Ohhhhh....déjà vu all over again. Will this be a class action lawsuit too? Will "all FedEx pilots" be represented? Will "all FedEx pilots" share in the judgement or settlement?

I bet THIS will get the most qualified candidates volunteering to step up and serve!
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Old 11-03-2017, 11:42 AM
  #432  
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How many of the MEC members already have their high five?
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Old 11-03-2017, 02:31 PM
  #433  
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If this is how they "serve" I could not care less about how "qualified" they are. The only people they are serving is themselves if they willingly give away our A plan benefit.
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Old 11-03-2017, 02:35 PM
  #434  
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Originally Posted by mempurpleflyer View Post
Additionally, could it be that this agenda is being pushed by senior pilots who already have maxed out the A Plan benefit? If you have already achieved your $130k benefit, of course you don't care if the plan is frozen.

If you are a newhire, you might care but don't have any "skin in the game" yet.

It is the guys in the middle that will suffer. Is this new plan going to "buy up" these guys in the middle to account for the lost A Plan guaranteed benefit?
Of course it is. They have nothing to lose in their scenario, assuming any of this smoke and mirrors is true. And how bout the guys on LTD? How do they fare with their plan frozen and no way to add to it with a variable benefit plan?

This is beyond stupid.
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Old 11-03-2017, 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted by FXDX View Post
Of course it is. They have nothing to lose in their scenario, assuming any of this smoke and mirrors is true. And how bout the guys on LTD? How do they fare with their plan frozen and no way to add to it with a variable benefit plan?

.
Good question. At least right now if you're on LTD, you are still working towards longevity. That is a real screw job if your plan is frozen, you're only getting LTD pay, plus you aren't allowed to accrue anything with the variable benefit. Are they planning on buying those guys up, or adding a set minimum amount?

It's hard to even imagine one going on LTD when you're healthy, that's for other people. Until the day it happens to you.
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Old 11-03-2017, 02:50 PM
  #436  
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Originally Posted by busdriver12 View Post
Good question. At least right now if you're on LTD, you are still working towards longevity. That is a real screw job if your plan is frozen, you're only getting LTD pay, plus you aren't allowed to accrue anything with the variable benefit. Are they planning on buying those guys up, or adding a set minimum amount?

It's hard to even imagine one going on LTD when you're healthy, that's for other people. Until the day it happens to you.
I've been talking about this scenario to guys for awhile now, and no one has the answers! This is crazy that our own union is proposing this, and it's moving fast! We need to get pilots involved and to the meetings asap to voice our concerns and opinions or this train will be too fast to stop! There is no way on Earth our union can think of all the ways we WILL get hosed with this plan! I can't believe this was a unanimous MEC yes to send this to management. We have no clue what's even going down, and watch this will go behind closed doors and we are screwed!

Tell your reps No Way!!!!!!!
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Old 11-03-2017, 03:24 PM
  #437  
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Originally Posted by mempurpleflyer View Post
The problem is this "train" now has momentum and is hard to stop. To stop it, the union would have to admit that they were wrong...that all of the time and money invested have not yielded a better retirement plan. Good luck getting a bunch of pilots to admit that they were wrong.

Many of the things you brought up are spot on. As I understand it, the pilot group is not the only group in the pension plan. Management is in the same (or similar) plan, correct? Why are they not scrambling to get rid of it? I guess we are "smarter" than everyone else (sarcasm).

When I came to FedEx I thought I had arrived. Never will need to dust off the resume again. Now I am not so sure. Seems like I keep getting screwed from both sides. On the one hand, I have a company that has a great business model but middle management that can't seem to make a good decision. I will just mention the entire integration of the 767 as the latest example and leave it at that. On the other hand, I have a union that sent us a contract that is already behind everyone else within 2 years of its signing and now is considering voluntarily giving away one of the only things that separates FedEx from everyone else (except UPS). I haven't been here a huge amount of time but long enough where it makes starting over difficult...and I am still tempted. If I was a newhire, I might be looking elsewhere.

The A Plan has not been improved since 1999...got it. It is dying by attrition...got it. It is too expensive to improve...got it. But $130k guaranteed for life is still a nice benefit and has a lot of bargaining power. And, it is supplemented with our B Plan that is currently negotiated to increase to 9%. The top pax airlines only offer 16%...we are more than half of that (minus the cash over the cap provision).

So, here is what you do. Every Section 6 negotiation, you increase the B Plan a little bit to offset the purchasing power the A Plan has lost since the last contract. You implement a "cash over the cap" provision (like everyone else has) so guys who hit the IRS limits don't lose money. In other words, an increased B Plan with "cash over the cap" can be used to offset the plan's decreasing value over time.

Maybe one day the A Plan will be worth so little that it will be time to freeze it but NOW IS NOT THAT TIME. $130k guaranteed is still a lot of money and will be for many years. Heck, my military pension IS adjusted yearly for inflation and is still a long way from $130k.

At the end of they day I ask a simple question...is there any other employee group in America (pilot or otherwise) that has VOLUNTARILY frozen their defined benefit plan? If so, what were the circumstances. If not...think about it!
Thank you for saying this far more eloquently then I ever could. This whole thing is unfathomable to me.
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Old 11-03-2017, 04:32 PM
  #438  
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Originally Posted by mempurpleflyer View Post
....So, here is what you do. Every Section 6 negotiation, you increase the B Plan a little bit to offset the purchasing power the A Plan has lost since the last contract. You implement a "cash over the cap" provision (like everyone else has) so guys who hit the IRS limits don't lose money. In other words, an increased B Plan with "cash over the cap" can be used to offset the plan's decreasing value over time.

Maybe one day the A Plan will be worth so little that it will be time to freeze it but NOW IS NOT THAT TIME. $130k guaranteed is still a lot of money and will be for many years. Heck, my military pension IS adjusted yearly for inflation and is still a long way from $130k.

At the end of they day I ask a simple question...is there any other employee group in America (pilot or otherwise) that has VOLUNTARILY frozen their defined benefit plan? If so, what were the circumstances. If not...think about it!
Great post. This truly is the equitable, balanced decision that would keep us most aligned with our closest competitor ~ UPS (...something the company, justifiably, keeps their eye on too)

The current UPS mixed retirement is more B fund heavy. Our A fund multiplier would still be better than theirs.

I hope our pilot group is waking up, but I’m concerned the holidays & peak will be distracting and “leaving a legacy” and “negotiation fatigue” will be a factor again.
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Old 11-03-2017, 04:36 PM
  #439  
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Originally Posted by mempurpleflyer View Post
additionally, could it be that this agenda is being pushed by senior pilots who already have maxed out the a plan benefit? If you have already achieved your $130k benefit, of course you don't care if the plan is frozen.

If you are a newhire, you might care but don't have any "skin in the game" yet.

It is the guys in the middle that will suffer. Is this new plan going to "buy up" these guys in the middle to account for the lost a plan guaranteed benefit?
........this ^^^^^
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Old 11-03-2017, 04:37 PM
  #440  
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Originally Posted by FXDX View Post
Of course it is. They have nothing to lose in their scenario, assuming any of this smoke and mirrors is true. And how bout the guys on LTD? How do they fare with their plan frozen and no way to add to it with a variable benefit plan?

This is beyond stupid.
.......and THIS ^^^^^^
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