EXACTLY!
Just as United did with their TA Tumi 1.0.
Kick em to the curb & start over with fresh guys.

United ended up with a very good TA afterwords.

Ya and we had unity to back it up with a 99% strike authorization vote. Then our negotiating committee decided to throw in the towel in the 7th round of a 12 round fight because the mediator wouldn't be available for a month or two. The MEC and NC are the ones that completely bungled this entire process and they all need to go. A TA that at best had a small chance of passing with a 51% majority with a hard sell and misleading "facts" from the union should have never made it to the members for a ratification vote. The company should be shooting for a 51% approval, not our union leadership that is representing us.

Plenty of misleading facts...but not just from the 13 "Yes" proponents. Tony C is a great guy, and I respect him. He took me out to lunch when I was a new hire S/O on the 727 and I wasn't even on his crew. Once again, really great guy.

Excerpt from Tony's last block letter:

"...and an increase since the last CBA pay rate increase of 17.2%.
Now, I realize I haven’t presented a bar graph or even a table, but anyone can check my work by using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator at Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator.
I don’t think anybody needs a calculator or a website to see that our 14% initial hourly rate increase is less than the inflation number provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics."

The problem with that set of facts is Tony neglects to include the notes and FAQ's from the BLS site. 17.2464% is in fact the CPI from November of 2020 until June 2023. But if you read the methodology notes, that represents an increase in the Market Basket of Goods and Services of approximately $12,277. I'm certain that the lowest pay raise from the TA provided quite a bit more than that. CPI is a government tool based on "Average" consumers (those with a 2021 median income of $70,784/household) and doesn't reflect inflation for those of us in the upper 2-3%.

I would personally like to see Tony as the new MEC chair. He is a fighter. That doesn't mean I blindly believe everything he says and, even on points where he is demonstrably correct, I may not agree with his view point. I will continue to support the new NC (whoever they may be) and I WILL continue to show up for the picketing events.

If inflation was 17.2 % and you get a 14% pay increase, you can buy less stuff than 3 years ago. It doesn't matter the total dollar you make, you are still poorer than you were

Not sure you are not doing your math correctly. The $12k increase is the increased cost for a family with the median income of $71k. That's where they get the CPI rate. If you make more, you probably also spend more, thus your inflation expense (12K in this average example) would also be higher. If your Market Basket of Goods and Services spending is 300k over three years; then you spent an extra 51k than you would have prior to Nov 2020. The CPI gives you an "idea" at best how inflation is effecting the population. It varies by region/state/local, etc. Some areas will be higher, some lower. I'd guess the company negotiator will try to use the CPI for Memphis and hopefully we use the CPI for ALPA HQ/NYC/SFO, etc.

I think the main point was: it is not a pay raise, but an inflation adjustment.

That's OK if you aren't sure. I am. The headline +17% increase is specifically for that hypothetical average consumer. Everyone is going to have their own inflation rate. My housing cost went down in 2020 because I refinanced into a 2.25% mortgage. Housing accounts for typically 40% (weighted) of the CPI. So my cost (and the corresponding portion of my CPI) decreased. My transportation cost increased because I bought a new car.
The point is....that CPI number isn't for you. If you make twice as much as average, it doesn't mean your basket of goods cost twice as much. If you make 6-7 times the average, you aren't paying $18-21 for a gallon of gas, you aren't paying $60 for a movie ticket, and you aren't paying $20 for a bottle of aspirin at Costco. CPI is a tool that doesn't work well outside of +/- 1 standard deviation.

Does the CEO making $100,000,000 a year need a $17 million raise so he can keep up with inflation?

Ok, I was just being polite. You still don't understand or you are just not trying. CPI of course is not for an individual. As I said it is regional at best. No one said the cost of items would double or triple or multiply by the number of times you make over the average. But regardless of how much you make the CPI gives a "rough" idea of how much inflation has impacted "your standard of living". If the CEO makes 100,000,000 then yes he/she will need to spend 17M more for the same standard of living they had previously. The Yachts cost more, the expense to have your private jet fly you around costs more, the taxes on your Estate at the Vineyard goes up. Everything cost roughly 17% more than it did previously. Can you personally offset some aspects of inflation. Of course, you refinanced your house. Your interest expense is now less. However, your taxes are more, your insurance costs more, the repairs cost more, etc. It is roughly 17% for the "most" people. You might be less or you might be more, but as a group the cost is 17%. TC is not being disingenuous. He's using the Gov't numbers. Not YOUR personal number. If your expenses did not go up by 17% over the last three years then that's great for you. Mine is much more, so it sucks to be me. But to say because you make more means your costs don't go up is stupid. The percentage of how much you spend on certain items might be less than someone earning the average national wage, but it total whatever you bought in 2020 now costs 17% more in 2023. That's what CPI means. The average price you paid for whatever in 2020 now cost 17% more in 2023. To keep pace with that inflation your earnings must also increase by 17%.

"If the CEO makes 100,000,000 then yes he/she will need to spend 17M more for the same standard of living they had previously." That is completely wrong, you gotta know that... Cost of living does not scale linearly with income. Bread doesn't cost more because you make more. You just choose to buy finer bread, but even that cost tops out...and how much bread can you eat?

by your logic, we should keep accepting raises that don't match inflation until we make the same amount as a mcdonald's worker.

Part of your standard of living is also what you save for later along with what you spend. And yes, you choose nicer longer vacations flying first class. if you keep accepting pay rates less than inflation it won't be long until you can't take the same vacation, and that is a standard of living change.

Never ever thought I’d be saying this, but I’m soooooooo happy to continue for the next 1-2-3 yrs, however long it takes under CBA 2015! And I thought THAT was a turd! Even with no pay raise and none in the future I’m maxed out (17 yrs here). We dodged a bullet. But I still think it won’t be that long. FDX has not been the prettiest girl at the prom for a few years now….and now I think we’re looking even more ugly compared to our sexier pax carriers. I mean who on earth would come here now?

Fdx is THE LAST carrier to not pony up to pay the pilots, I mean how embarrassing!

Strictly mathematically speaking, at some point you do't need to see pay raises that match inflation to keep up with the cost of living increase. That's all I'm saying.

Feel the same way. So glad to continue working under our current CBA.

We didn't vote in the major concessions TA1 contained out of a sense of impatience with the RLA process.

We didn't vote in an Unsat agreement which equated to less pilots required due to gained efficiencies, out of fear of not knowing how long this process will take.

Proud of our group for saying enough is enough.

UA pay increase 40%
 

The new UA pay scale DOS has the big pay bump (40%) in the A380. Which UA doesn’t fly, and Airbus stopped building.. Tantamount to slap in the face..

Actually, it's you that doesn't seem to understand. That 17% CPI increase you love to reference is for the average American consumer. Just because you make 5x the average doesn't mean your basket of goods is 5x more expensive. Do you pay $15 for a pound of butter? Does Tim Cook pay $15k for that same pound? No. You may take nicer vacations and only eat Wagyu beef but that ISN'T what CPI is measuring.

Wireless telephone service (not hardware) is one part of the basket of goods and services. It accounts for 1.445% of the average consumers monthly expenses...about $1000 a year for someone making $70k. Are you really spending $5000+ a year on you cell phone plan? Did it go up $70 a month in the past two years? Doubtful. Which is why CPI doesn't correlate well to people in the top 10% of wage earners.

Do I want a nice big raise? Sure. But people misrepresenting a $50k raise as not even a COLA don't understand inflation. That $50k raise would be > a 70% increase for the "average" American. Are you going to argue they are barely keeping up with inflation?

fellas, I have 4 car payments, 3 private college, a wedding, 2 houses, boat, plane, ex, a sweet little 24 yr old grad student gf. When can we get this TA passed?

Just to be clear, the TA rates were a big improvement over what UPS got for signing a two year extension. If we are the last to get paid, it was by our choice.

Yes inflation has an outsized impact on the quality of life for poorer people. However, there are significant impacts on consumer spending that hit people in our tax bracket as well, and those changes in spending work their way through the rest of the economy.

Inflation is not a measure of butter cost as a percentage of one’s wages. Prices in stores are listed in real dollars not as a percentage of someone’s W2 earnings. Those with less hit 100% of their income being spent on basic needs prior to someone making more than the national average. However, for those making 3-4x the median income, the normal basket of goods that those folks buy begins to take up a larger amount of their total take home earnings which leaves less for discretionary spending, investment, etc.

Long story short, inflation has an impact on everyone. You’re making a dramatically different argument and I’m not sure what you’re trying to prove.

Inflation does effect everyone, but it is not linear. The quoted CPI does not, nor is it intended to represent every person in the country. It is for the average household. And yes, prices are listed in real dollars. The current average price of a new car (March 2023) is 48,008...67.7% of the "Average" households "Average" income. Certainly not 67% of any of our pilots income. According to the often spouted "high income earners have a higher cost market basket" argument, Tim Cook is driving a car that cost $67,307,216. That's got to have a sweet stereo!
My point is very simple. To argue that the TA pay raise did not keep up with inflation is incorrect. Yes there is inflation, but the CPI doesn't measure it accurately for high wage earners. That isn't its intent. We are not in the part of the bell curve where that data is valid. That's like claiming an IQ test designed for a 4 year old would adequately test the intelligence of a 30 year old.
Plenty of legitimate reasons have been given as justification for voting No on the TA. The COLA pay raise isn't one of them.

Now I remember why I bailed on social media! No more comments from me.

Oh I get it now. Since Tim Cook is a FedEx pilot our salaries shouldn’t keep up with inflation. Thanks for explaining it to me.

[QUOTE=magic rat;3672774 …
Fdx is THE LAST carrier to not pony up to pay the pilots, I mean how embarrassing![/QUOTE]

Wait a minute…. there are about 10,000 cowboys and cowgirls at WN that don’t even have an AIP yet. But we have asked for release from the NMB, and garnered a 99% SAV.