Japan
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Posts: 575
The biggest problem I see is the company thinks this is the new normal and that there is nothing wrong with it. Just like company Jumpseat’s. Big savings for them and no big deal. Funny how I do not have many company Jumpseat’s on my regular line and once I start the trip revisions out the ass with a lot of company JS. By the way you only get bank money for a Jumpseat if it was on your original pairing. Just got and insight response on that!
#12
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2006
Position: MD11 FO
Posts: 1,109
Well said, Adler.
A "normal meal", with water and no dessert is $30, times 3 per day (and I only eat 2) is $90. I personally recommend the salmon if you are at the Swiss. If you get McDonald's or Burger King via Uber, it is around $15, and your food is approaching cold by the time you get it. I don't recommend the Pizza Hut, as they put something (maybe seaweed?) on the pizza that gives it a strange taste, but it you like pizza, $25.
I have not gotten a draft or volunteer trip yet. The days that I thought might pick one up were designated as "no volunteer days". Memphis never calls me for draft, I guess they know I say no 95% of the time.
Your points are well taken. If I was on draft or volunteer, I wouldn't be complaining.
I have seen the calendars of the guys with only 3 or 4 days off a month. I am not sure how they do it with the 100/30 rules, but they are. Saw one guy on a trip worth 112 hours. I have heard of a lot more, but not personally seen them.
There is also a crew bus rumor that the extra pay has been noticed and they are taking steps to reduce it.
So, if you are a *****, enjoy it while it lasts.
A "normal meal", with water and no dessert is $30, times 3 per day (and I only eat 2) is $90. I personally recommend the salmon if you are at the Swiss. If you get McDonald's or Burger King via Uber, it is around $15, and your food is approaching cold by the time you get it. I don't recommend the Pizza Hut, as they put something (maybe seaweed?) on the pizza that gives it a strange taste, but it you like pizza, $25.
I have not gotten a draft or volunteer trip yet. The days that I thought might pick one up were designated as "no volunteer days". Memphis never calls me for draft, I guess they know I say no 95% of the time.
Your points are well taken. If I was on draft or volunteer, I wouldn't be complaining.
I have seen the calendars of the guys with only 3 or 4 days off a month. I am not sure how they do it with the 100/30 rules, but they are. Saw one guy on a trip worth 112 hours. I have heard of a lot more, but not personally seen them.
There is also a crew bus rumor that the extra pay has been noticed and they are taking steps to reduce it.
So, if you are a *****, enjoy it while it lasts.
#13
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2019
Posts: 168
There are many places that are worse. Most of them come with $100 for your hotel bank.
Japan does not. The union should negotiate for full per diem in the next contract, instead of giving us nickel and dimes, like they always do.
Yes, other places are worse, but I didn't sign up to be confined to a building on a long layover either.
Japan does not. The union should negotiate for full per diem in the next contract, instead of giving us nickel and dimes, like they always do.
Yes, other places are worse, but I didn't sign up to be confined to a building on a long layover either.
like to see perdiem stay low. That’s why.
#14
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: Crewmember
Posts: 1,376
The union should be responsive to its members. They should do what the members want, not what is best for the ALPA bureaucrats at the national office. Per diem is TAX FREE. International pilots are losing at least $10,000 TAX FREE per year.
They always tell us it is "our" union. How can that be true, if we are treated like children by the people in charge? How can that be true, if they think they always "know better" than us? I remember when the Roth 401K first came out. I asked if it would be part of our contract. "My union" said, no, it wouldn't be a good deal for us. They made the decision for us, without asking us what we thought. A couple contracts went by before we finally got the Roth 401K. We could have gotten it a lot earlier, if ALPA leadership had decided we should have it. My point is, the leadership should listen to us, but they don't because they are, for all practical purposes, unaccountable to us.
The retirements scheme is a prime example. They need to do a 100% survey of the membership to see how much support it really has, then they need to publish the results, whether they like them or not. Remember the Enders report? The union is just as guilty about hiding stuff from the membership.
Per diem is an expense that the company can write off as a business expense. There is no reason for the company to be against it any more than normal pay increases. Would you rather have $10,000 tax free? or $10,000 that is taxed?
They always tell us it is "our" union. How can that be true, if we are treated like children by the people in charge? How can that be true, if they think they always "know better" than us? I remember when the Roth 401K first came out. I asked if it would be part of our contract. "My union" said, no, it wouldn't be a good deal for us. They made the decision for us, without asking us what we thought. A couple contracts went by before we finally got the Roth 401K. We could have gotten it a lot earlier, if ALPA leadership had decided we should have it. My point is, the leadership should listen to us, but they don't because they are, for all practical purposes, unaccountable to us.
The retirements scheme is a prime example. They need to do a 100% survey of the membership to see how much support it really has, then they need to publish the results, whether they like them or not. Remember the Enders report? The union is just as guilty about hiding stuff from the membership.
Per diem is an expense that the company can write off as a business expense. There is no reason for the company to be against it any more than normal pay increases. Would you rather have $10,000 tax free? or $10,000 that is taxed?
#15
HOWEVER - (my main reason for posting), if you are positioned back to base via company JS at the end of a trip, you must receive travel bank credit for the baseline fare for those JS flight sequences. This is required on every trip, no matter if the JS was originally there or not. This requirement is in Section 8 of the CBA and has nothing to do with the Covid MOU. That CBA provision does not involve the calculation of the baseline fare as an average between the current bid pack and the corresponding one from last year. You simply look up the fares (view fares in deviation & deadhead section) for the month and city-pair and take the highest fare listed.
I have routinely had to submit travel bank discrepancies to get these funds added to my travel bank or to correct the fare amount because it was not the highest listed. Just a head's up.
#16
The union should be responsive to its members. They should do what the members want, not what is best for the ALPA bureaucrats at the national office. Per diem is TAX FREE. International pilots are losing at least $10,000 TAX FREE per year.
Per diem is an expense that the company can write off as a business expense. There is no reason for the company to be against it any more than normal pay increases. Would you rather have $10,000 tax free? or $10,000 that is taxed?
Per diem is an expense that the company can write off as a business expense. There is no reason for the company to be against it any more than normal pay increases. Would you rather have $10,000 tax free? or $10,000 that is taxed?
Per diem is meant to offset or hopefully completely cover expenses incurred while on company business. It's not meant to be an alternative source of tax-free income. It's meant to be spent. If we were provided exactly the right amount for every trip, we would have zero at the end of the trip. So, whether it's tax-free or not doesn't matter because it's all gone.
Having our union go to the negotiating table to claim we need full government rate per-diem only passes the common sense test if our pilots are consistently over-spending to sustain themselves. My experience internationally doesn't support that and while I can't speak for everyone, I would guess many share my view. Seeking more per diem because it's tax-free means it's being saved to use elsewhere as normal income. Why would the company agree to that when our own argument defeats the very reason we're asking for more. You ask for more because you need it - not because you're going to save it.
Increase my A-plan, B-plan, get better work rules so my pay per hour goes up not only from straight raises but because I'm working less for more money. Chasing more per diem is not where we need to be seeking improvements, IMO.
#17
Re-reading this, I realize it doesn’t make my point as well as I hoped. Of course, tax-free would produce more buying power so that does matter. But it would still be gone, which was my main point.
#18
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2019
Posts: 1,005
You are finding that FX guys are sadly no better than the dregs of society. Its the "American" mentality of non conformity.
Company put out at least 3 FCIFs about not leaving but that doesn't seem to apply to FX pilots. Everyone who breaks the rules has an excuse. Sad to see highly compensated professionals acting like kids and continually breaking the rules and leaving the hotel. Its not that hard to figure out where the hotel ends and public space starts. Sad to see I work with people who continually want to screw it up for others.
Company put out at least 3 FCIFs about not leaving but that doesn't seem to apply to FX pilots. Everyone who breaks the rules has an excuse. Sad to see highly compensated professionals acting like kids and continually breaking the rules and leaving the hotel. Its not that hard to figure out where the hotel ends and public space starts. Sad to see I work with people who continually want to screw it up for others.
#19
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2019
Posts: 163
You are finding that FX guys are sadly no better than the dregs of society. Its the "American" mentality of non conformity.
Company put out at least 3 FCIFs about not leaving but that doesn't seem to apply to FX pilots. Everyone who breaks the rules has an excuse. Sad to see highly compensated professionals acting like kids and continually breaking the rules and leaving the hotel. Its not that hard to figure out where the hotel ends and public space starts. Sad to see I work with people who continually want to screw it up for others.
Company put out at least 3 FCIFs about not leaving but that doesn't seem to apply to FX pilots. Everyone who breaks the rules has an excuse. Sad to see highly compensated professionals acting like kids and continually breaking the rules and leaving the hotel. Its not that hard to figure out where the hotel ends and public space starts. Sad to see I work with people who continually want to screw it up for others.
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