To fight or not to fight,that is the question
 

WHEN we get the details, everybody gets to vote. And we will decide whether we are ready for a fight for more improvements than this TA offers. Improvements will not be given to us. We are going to have to fight for them and that is something FedEx pilots have NEVER done successfully. We will bicker amongst ourselves. The fight will get ugly. While effective company tactics are predictable, they will remain effective. They will divide us and make repetitive pee stains on blue nylon. Our negotiators have worked very hard and long. Without a nasty fight, this is all we are going to be able to get. So decide if YOU are ready for a fight and please vote that way. 50.1 percent for and it's the contract I retire under, 50.1 percent no, and I'm ready for a fight.

I'm with you, Hog!
fbh

Wow...pee stains on blue nylon. This sounds pretty bad.

Is like another color thing the same as a "red" letter? If there is a reference that I'm not knowing (and I pretty much think I know everything :D), could you please school me up?

WM

You mean these?

http://i.imgur.com/mkcRox4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CnmHN7I.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xT0vwI5.jpg

(sorry cant change the size)

Hog. 50.1% is what the company lawyers are shooting for. Anything above that is gravy, MBOs, etc. Nothing at all to do with day-to-day ops, quality of life or any other of our pitiful concerns. It's not business, just culture.

Pine. Thanks for that blast from the past. I tossed mine on arrival.

Here to help. Sorry there wasn't a resize 800 x 600 or so

No specific reference but an allusion to the past reactions of SOME of our pilots peeing their uniform pants(blue nylon) at every threat.

Thanks for posting the Red Letter. I had always heard about it and seen a small pic of it, but, never been able to read the entire letter. Wow!

If the rumors are true, 10% initial, 3% for following 5 years and $40K Capt/$28K F/O "signing bonus", I hope we don't even see this TA and it gets sent back.

They owe us more than that!

I couldnt agree with you more Hog. We have gone through every contract without getting things "corrected" that should have been corrected. And when we get an improvement in one area, the Company has language
in the contract that lets them do things that are detrimental to us in other areas. It is always a trade off.

Until we let our negotiators know everything that we want fixed, and until they stand firm on trying to get things fixed, with the 100% backing of the pilot group doing the things that are obviously necessary, we will
probably do a little better than break even on any contract we agree to.

We will get pay raises that dont keep up with inflation. We will see new ways the Company will use the contract, in ways they never have, to make some of our lives miserable. New scheduling schemes, accepted
fares, and 4A2B are just one aspect. There are many, many more. And they need to be fixed.

IMO, we blew it with the HKG FDA LOA. Also with CGN. I feel that we had mucho leverage in both instances. But until we wise up, and stop thinking that certain aspects of the contract will never affect us individually,
we will be taking one step forward and 1.1 steps backwards.

We are a fairly well educated group of people. Unfortunately, generally speaking, we are also pretty narrow minded when it comes to the things we would like to see in a contract. We should strive to correct
everything, whether it has a direct effect on us personally or not.

I am happy and proud to work for one of the best companies around, let alone one of the best airlines. Not only do I want this company to succeed while I am working here, I want it to do so after I leave.

But, if there isnt a marked improvement in the TA over what we presently have, I probably wont be a yes. And if it took us another 2 or 3 years to get what I consider a major improvement, so be it.

As a group, we bust our a$$e$ every night to do what we are paid to do. Sometimes we do more. We are worth more than what we get. Lets realize this fact and act accordingly.

Diatribe over.

I'm Ready!
A job worth fighting for!

If the rumors are true then I'm voting NO!!
 

Great thread guys I'm posting this here again and I am 100% with you and I really appreciate posting the red letter a lot of guys here aren't familiar with the history of the management-labor relations. I really feel like the management team is headed back to the old fire, aim, ready management style. I hope guys won't be blinded by the "signing bonus" what a joke. It really is back pay and if the numbers are correct it is not nearly enough and I'm tired of these contract extensions that offer no real improvements.
I know I don't have all the facts yet, but if it turns out to be a 10% pay raise and then 3% a year after and retirement isn't uncapped, I'm absolutely voting NO. To me that would merely be another contract extension. We have continued to have our schedules optimized. We are working harder, more days per month, with more legs, shorter layovers, no weekend layovers, ridiculous deadheads and unreasonable banks. Come on just look around, airlines who haven't made money in a decade are rapidly closing in on us when it comes to compensation.
Plus each year the retirement cap is maintained our retirement becomes less valuable. I used to buy a can of soda for 25 cents and now the same can costs a buck or more. I believe our pay rates are just keeping up with inflation, but we are working much harder than we used too. Simultaneously the value of our retirement continues to decline due to inflation. This contract will last almost another decade (Yes 6 years plus the 2-3 years it always takes to get a new contract), there is a higher probability of increased inflation which will further erode the value our earnings and retirement.
I remember the fact that our careers got extended out to 65. How about another week of vacation for 5 more years of service, how about increasing the multiplier so we can get credit for 30 years instead of 25 towards retirement (then we could at least earn 60% of our high 5) and how about increasing the pay scale out to 20 years so we have higher pay rates for our longer careers. I'm sick of trying to just maintain the status quo, how about some improvements to pay, retirement, vacation and quality of life. I want an exceptional TA and I don't have any problem saying that I want the best pay, benefits and compensation in the business because I think we have earned them.
Going into peak, record profits, pilot shortage, record stock price, rapidly growing executive compensation and bonuses--I guess we probably don't have any leverage do we? I'm sure if we wait another 10 years the company will reward us for our patience and loyalty and we will probably have just as much leverage then too. Can you blame the company for offering us another crappy deal? We have gladly taken every other one they have given us. I really like my job, I don't think the company is evil, I just want what I have earned--A real pay raise, protecting the value of my retirement, and some quality of life improvements. You do what you want, but if the rumors are true I'm absolutely voting NO!!!