You guys are a riot. Why don't you pass a law mandating 100K a year to start for all pilots. Why stop there? Let's pass laws mandating salaries for everyone?

Don't make enough to suit you? Go get a better job. Can't get one? Go get a better education. Bottom line, quit complaining about how much other people make. It's still a semi free country and you are free to better your circumstances. Don't try to get there by limiting another's.

I make enough to suit me, I have an education and I have a good job. By the way since this is a "semi free" country like you say then I have a right to complain or voice my opinion on what someone makes especially when someone is paid by our tax dollars!

Isn't that Playmobile, not Lego?

My rear end. On a typical morning at 6AM on the Blue Line in ORD going to work the TSA screeners sound something like this

[deleted racist comments and profanity]

As with most things pay oriented in America, it's not what you deserve, it's what you can negotiate.

The TSA is currently non-union. This is likely to change over the next 3 years. Once it does, you can be sure that they'll negotiate far, far better salaries. They will use the same argument that pilots do ("awesome responsibility", "stressful", "zero mistakes" and all that), and I suspect it will be successful. They will also argue that it will only take a "small" increase in the current TSA fee's leveled against passengers to give them these raises, and I'm willing to bet the flying public will say "ok", then blame airlines for expensive tickets.

(where else in America does the federal government charge "protection money" to keep you safe from foreign terrorists?)

All of this has little, if anything, to do with the quality of the personnel at the TSA. Even if they were paid, say $50-60k/yr, it's highly unlikely they'd start with a clean slate of newer, higher qualified candidates who might consider the job given the higher pay. So you'll be left with the same screeners you have today, only making more money, at our passengers expense.

But hey . . . . it's not what you deserve, it's WHAT YOU CAN NEGOTIATE.

A better idea would be to have a law that no airline pilot could make less than an air traffic controller.
This is of course highly unlikely and unrealistic as is trying to control any groups salary.

Lets not try and drag others salaries down,lets move ours up.
A place to start is by not working for companies that pay abysmal salaries in the first place.

Sorry for the thread hijack.

Very true. Why is it that so many pilots feel they are entitled to something and immune to the market forces in a more or less free market economy?
With regards to controller's pay, I believe they deserve and earn every penny they make.

That's not the point, the article is designed to draw attention to the "front-line" troops supposed difficulties and low pay. THEY are using the importance of the job on airline safety to garner sympathy. There's only one problem. Look up the recent openings for TSA screener on usajobs.gov...go ahead, I'll wait...the lowest starting pay (found on 1/27/10) is $30,793-$46,189. Federal healthcare, life insurance, pension and savings plan, education reimbursement, commuting reimbursement, etc.

What's the requirement? In a nutshell; 18 or older, GED or better, speak English, lift 70lbs., pass a basic physical and background check.

These TSA agents don't realize unemployment is over 10%, and if they are using this article to generate sympathy, it may backfire when taxpayers demand paycuts and layoffs...oh, wait...that doesn't happen does it?

The question is why aren't we hearing stories and reading more articles about the plight of airline pilots? We live in a media age dominated by 24 hour news networks. ALPA should be front and center on educating the public and government and getting them on our side when it comes to compensation. Look at air traffic controllers for example, anytime NATCA wants something changed they throw a couple ads in the NYT and Wash post saying how dangerous the current system is unless something is changed, and for the most part it has worked for them (ie the recent pay raise). NATCA really has no legal bargaining power yet they manage to get things done.

Then a contracting company will come in and say they can do it at a lower rate. Allllll because the screeners didn't have a tight enough scope. Sound familiar?