Training Contract
 

I am currently a Colgan FO and looking to go to Pinnacle because I can be based at home in MSP and won't have to commute. I'm still under the training contract at Colgan, so if I left for Pinnacle how would breaking the training contract work. I really want to be based at home but I really don't want to have to pay the Colgans any money. I've heard the training contract in not enforceable but I'm not sure how it would work in this case. I appreciate your input.

Didn't you know that before you went to Colgan?

theres an expensive mistake

Yeah tell me about it. I just didn't know that it was going to suck this much.

Simply put? If you quit colgan, be prepared to pay...

They may or may not try to enforce the contract. However it's important to know that regardless of whether they do or not, it's a written contract, that very well could be legally enforceable.

I'm seeing more and more employers these days that instead of suing the former employee, they are simply selling off the debt of the contract to a collection agency. While they don't recoup all of the money on the deal, they get a good chunk of it, and the collection agency then can utilize their large resources to claim the rest of the contract (often with interest after they win a civil court suit).

This could be bad advice but I'd just leave. I've been told by several that have left their airlines that none of them had to pay anything. They said it would cost more in court and look bad for the company so they just let them go. This was several guys from Mesa though. I think I had about 7 of them in my training class and I don't believe any of them waited it out. Mesa just kept their last paycheck.

You work for mainline, it cant be that bad! Come over to the beech (colgan express) and the beatings are just a little more severe.
No but seriously, Ive heard something recently about Virginia being a "right to work" state so they cant enforce the contract or something, maybe look into that?
I would think that the move to PCL would be better than to lets say, RAH, in terms of paying back the training contract- they do pay our paychecks after all.
Anyhow, we'll get stapled to the bottom of their list soon enough, so maybe just wait a few months and youll be holding the CRJ.

Dont forget to vote 'YES"

"right to work" state means that the employer has MORE rights than you! Odds are they will enforce the contract.

How long is the contract for? How much time to you currently owe on it? How much money would that equate to?

You shouldn't have to pay squat. We are no longer working for the same company under which we signed a contract since the Pinnacle buyout.