This TA will be ratified
#11
I am a no voter and I also think this TA will pass.
My crystal ball says that in 8-10 years when we sign the next contract the A plan will be frozen. Due to this fact I will make sure I max out the 260 during the life of this contract to maximize my benefit and I will be doing it as a WB F/O. I know many that do.
My crystal ball says that in 8-10 years when we sign the next contract the A plan will be frozen. Due to this fact I will make sure I max out the 260 during the life of this contract to maximize my benefit and I will be doing it as a WB F/O. I know many that do.
That's exactly how not improving the A-plan is a huge hit to our QOL, now, and in the future.
The productivity gains in the TA, coupled with the SLB, and the option to reduce VAC on SLR, will not only delay retirements, but have even more guys flying their a$$ off. The company wins all-round. And as a nice bonus to the company, the overall number of DB payments will be reduced as long-term fatigue and health issues resulting from the continuos optimizing of pairings and of ourselves (as we now work to fund our own retirement), causes yet a bigger decline in our life expectancy.
#12
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2008
Position: 757 Capt
Posts: 107
USMC and Cloudsailor are absolutely right this TA hurts us and really empowers the company moving forward. I am hearing more No's from crewmembers throughout the various fleets. However I still run across enough guys who are completely uniformed and can't wait to vote yes and already have their "BONUS" money spent that I am worried. I ask them why they are voting yes and they almost always say "The union voted yes so it must be a good deal.
#13
In 1998 how many FedEx pilots were making 260k? (No B plan then) In 2006, I'm sure a small percentage of pilots were hitting the caps (thanks to draft and carryover-B plan increased to 7%). Thanks to the non-existent pay raises in 2011, an increasing percentage of pilots are impacted by the cap....
What year was the B plan implemented?
At what percentage?
What was the A Plan formula at that time?
I know the B plan was 6% in 2006...then raised to 7% under the 2006 contract
Now it's going to be raised to 8%...and then eventually 9%
I think a mix of both the A plan & B plan is the most prudent for many reasons.
In order to compare our "total retirement benefit" over the history of Fedex contracts, we should compare the history of both plans.
Old heads, please provide
Thanks.
#14
The fact that the B-plan is a "recent" addition here hammers home my focus on the A-plan.
It is a negotiated benefit. It is deferred compensation. We gave up something - higher pay rates - for an A-plan.
To let that hard-fought, negotiated benefit die on the vine is an insult.
When the company tells the NC "Sorry, increasing the multiplier is too expensive" my thought is "Of course they would say that".
My next thought is "Of course we would say no to such a blatant degradation of one our hardest-fought benefits".
It is a negotiated benefit. It is deferred compensation. We gave up something - higher pay rates - for an A-plan.
To let that hard-fought, negotiated benefit die on the vine is an insult.
When the company tells the NC "Sorry, increasing the multiplier is too expensive" my thought is "Of course they would say that".
My next thought is "Of course we would say no to such a blatant degradation of one our hardest-fought benefits".
#15
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Position: 767 FO
Posts: 8,047
The fact that the B-plan is a "recent" addition here hammers home my focus on the A-plan.
It is a negotiated benefit. It is deferred compensation. We gave up something - higher pay rates - for an A-plan.
To let that hard-fought, negotiated benefit die on the vine is an insult.
When the company tells the NC "Sorry, increasing the multiplier is too expensive" my thought is "Of course they would say that".
My next thought is "Of course we would say no to such a blatant degradation of one our hardest-fought benefits".
It is a negotiated benefit. It is deferred compensation. We gave up something - higher pay rates - for an A-plan.
To let that hard-fought, negotiated benefit die on the vine is an insult.
When the company tells the NC "Sorry, increasing the multiplier is too expensive" my thought is "Of course they would say that".
My next thought is "Of course we would say no to such a blatant degradation of one our hardest-fought benefits".
#18
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2013
Posts: 2,756
What kind of bonanza did they get when the retirement age was raised to 65? So if people are retiring at an average age (I heard 64 approximately) instead of what it was before (59ish, I'm guessing), that's five extra years they're not paying it, for every pilot. So what happened to that five years per pilot average extra pension that is unpaid? Where is that money?
#19
The $260,000 earnings cap came with the first and only FPA contract. I believe it came about because the IRS had a limit of a $130,000 for a defined benefit in a Qualified Pension Plan. Since our max benefit was 50% of FAE the $260,000 assured the benefit would never exceed the IRS limit. The IRS limit is adjusted for inflation, but the contract is not. By the time ALPA arrived the second time and signed their first contract in 2006 the IRS defined benefit limit rose to $175,000 so our earnings cap should have risen to $350,000. Now the IRS defined benefit has risen to $210,000 so the cap should rise to $420,000. Now the sad fact is ALPA has failed to secure the basic benefit that the Fedex Pilots Association secured in 1998 in a parking lot in 1998.
FYI the pension plan was at Federal Express long before the pilots unionized. Almost ALL FedEx employees were covered by the same plan including pilots. The corporation changed the plan for all non pilots around 2007 but the pilots avoided it because we had a union contract. Looks to me that the union has no will to protect the pilot pension.
Last edited by FoxHunter; 09-18-2015 at 07:01 PM. Reason: Just to add we never gave up anything to get the pension in the first place. Fred is just teaching a lesson.
#20
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Position: 767 FO
Posts: 8,047
Why would we have to give up a lot more to raise the cap? It would cost them money?
What kind of bonanza did they get when the retirement age was raised to 65? So if people are retiring at an average age (I heard 64 approximately) instead of what it was before (59ish, I'm guessing), that's five extra years they're not paying it, for every pilot. So what happened to that five years per pilot average extra pension that is unpaid? Where is that money?
What kind of bonanza did they get when the retirement age was raised to 65? So if people are retiring at an average age (I heard 64 approximately) instead of what it was before (59ish, I'm guessing), that's five extra years they're not paying it, for every pilot. So what happened to that five years per pilot average extra pension that is unpaid? Where is that money?
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