After nearly two years of negotiating, the IBT has successfully negotiated a contract in which 1/3 of the pilot group will take a 10 to 20 percent pay cut. Something is seriously wrong here. We were much better off without the IBT.

 

That's not bad at all. Sounds like my sort of flying. How long are new captains sitting reserve?

 

We don't really have traditional reserve. We have some backup lines, which occasionally involves sitting at the airport in one of the hubs in case you're needed for backup. But most of the new hires are sent to the outstations anyway, where there are typically no backup lines so you'll be flying.

 

Good for you guys. Nice to see some companies actually desire to have both a sucessful management and labor.

 

How are the work rules worse? I'd love to see some examples.

The Caribbean override was going away regardless and no one uses the override in MVY and ACK. So if you compare that to the protection LOA #5 gives you, it's a win. Also, read LOA #5 closely. When the road show makes it's way down there, they have a spreadsheet that will help it all make sense. It's not perfect, but in my opinion, I'm glad to see our "B scale" go away.

Like I said above, compare what this contract gives you to not having a contract and losing the overrides altogether. Also, like most people have been previously posting, compare this contract to other regionals. It's not better than all of them, but definitely better than most of them.

 

Pretty doubtful this will go through. Lots of guys out on the line can't believe the ta. Same pay as now for the bottom 75% of pilots. Carib pilots taking a pay cut, and the top guys get a raise. It looks like they copied our current manual and made it a ta. If we won't get a raise, might as well not have a contract and union dues!

 

Here we go again. Guys below 7 years seniority got a smaller raise than those above 7 years because in 2008, the junior half of the list got a $2+ raise, while the top half got nothing. If you factor in the 2008 raise and this one, it still favors the junior guys overall. I have no problem with people voting no for this TA, just do it for a good reason. The fact that you think they copied our current manual and made a TA from it makes me think you haven't read it. Stop hiding behind the anonymity of a forum like this and posting meaningless garbage. It's great to discuss the pro's and con's of this TA, but some facts would be nice. So here are some:

There are numerous improvements in the TA, like increased sick time which accumulates bi-weekly, long and short term disability, scheduled duty breaks, a 401k contribution from the company, increased min guarantee for the week and for the day, increased per diem, extra pay credit for unscheduled overnights, extra pay when you have less than 10 days off, vacation slide, an open time pool, improved vacation bidding, increased bereavement leave, full coverage for jury duty, and, this is something not everyone has, an ASAP program, which is huge. Ask any regional pilot who doesn't have it. This also doesn't factor in improvements that the union brought about that were implemented prior to the TA, like our base bidding system. Ask some guys who have been here for a while how much the old bidding system sucked. And be honest, that's a long list above.

There are also some negatives. Junior guys in the Caribbean won't be pay protected if or when they return next season, and senior guys are effectively pay protected but their pay is frozen until the rest of us catch up. I agree this is a big downside and very nearly outweighs a lot of things above. Just please take a deep breath, ignore all of the crap flying around in the Caribbean, and make an informed decision. If you want to vote no, then do so, but then help the union come up with some better alternatives that they can propose if this TA gets voted down.

 

It seems some people either haven't read the manuals or the TA. There are plenty of instances where this TA differs from the manuals and for the better.

Agreed, losing the override is a bummer, but if I have heard correctly the company will eliminate the override regardless of a YES or NO vote.

So I suppose it's either vote NO for no override, and no union dues. Or vote YES for no override, improvements in work rules/benefits, and an overall increase in pay with union dues.

 

First of all, I wasn't attacking anyone, unlike you. I am not hiding behind a forum, if you would prefer you can tell me who you are and I would be glad to say the same thing in person. I am merely stating that there are a lot of guys who have already voted no because of the pay issue. Caribbean based pilots just won't vote yes to a significant pay cut. If you dont think that is reason enough for them to vote no, maybe you should try a $3/hr pay cut. Next winter there will be the issue of forcing junior pilots to the Caribbean because no one will be able to afford to live there seasonally.

Yes I agree some of the work rules have been improved, but that doesnt change the fact of no pay change for 50+% of the pilots and a cut of pay for Carib pilots, and that is a huge deciding factor.

Btw the .25% 401 match is laughable at best. I'm not sure if you have ever worked anywhere else, but that is well below par.

 

I was rude, I apologize.
The $3/hr pay cut is moot. I believe the company will eliminate that override regardless of the outcome fo the vote.
.25% is low for a 401k but it is better than what currently exists


That's all for my 2 cents.