Duty time (FDP anyway) is already limited to 60 in 7.

Airlines are not exempt from minimum wage laws. If they require you to be on duty (at airport, in uniform, etc) then you must take home at least minimum wage times those hours. Times you are released (at the hotel, on reserve waiting for a call, 3 hour sits, etc) there is no wage law. Airlines are exempt from the overtime requirement of time and a half over 40 hours per week.

I oppose the idea of TAFB pay because somebody on reserve never getting called is entitled to ZERO wage, according to interpretation of minimum wage law. As much as this reality might be sad, the times where minimum wage does apply to this job, we all actually do make more than that. Per diem is considered an expense reimbursement, and does not factor into a "minimum wage" calculation.

My fear about establishing a comparable minimum wage in this job is that management and unions will use this as an index and never raise the bar above that. Real regional negotiations should center around what talent airlines want to recruit (age, lifestyle, etc) and base income off of that, plus average monthly cost every pilot pays for training.

Regional management figures they are the "graduate school" for pilots. So a first year guy makes minimum wage ($7.25 * 40hrs. * 4 weeks = $1,160 monthly) factor in "training costs" of say $500 and a pilot should take home $1,660 a month. At $23 an hour, a first year fo takes home more than that ($23 * 75 = $1725). Negotiations in this industry should center around being paid as a professional, not being paid as a minimum wage entry level employee.

*end rand*

..........

Why is so complicated for people to understand, if you accept the job you accept the wages. Nothing tells the employer they aren't paying enough like people not showing up. Pilots don't work very hard compared to other jobs. I much rather sit on reserve than work at mcdonalds. No one dreams of working a fryer. Hundreds of doe eyed young people dream of flying the friendly skies. They show up with expectations and then reality sets in and they begin to whine and moan about how hard it is to hack it as a regional airline pilot. If you can't make your salary work for you don't complain get a better job. They are around but they require some initiative.

None of this relieves me of the right to fight for better working conditions and compensation at a job I already have. I agree with your initial premise, but not the entire spirit of your message.

"Pilots don't work very hard compared to other jobs."

I dont know where you work bub, but I bust my b@!!$ everyday Im sitting in the front of an airplane ensuring a safe ride for the customers in the back. Not only do I work hard, Ive worked hard to get here. Don't even say we don't work hard. Look up the most stressful jobs in the U.S. Youll find that an airline pilot ranks in the top ten. This thread is an insult to pilots across the board. Minimum wage and professional pilot should never be mentioned in the same breath...although thats what the majority of regional pilots (F.O.'s) make.

Maybe you're trolling but if you are legitimately saying pilots dont work hard, you have no idea what you are talking about.

Only Hope
 

When I take time to analyze and assess why I have sat on my tickets for so many years without going for the regionals, it is only because of the pay. I just won't go for 23K for any reason.

If people could just see how working at these depressed wages for so many years harm our financial picture. I mean no mortgage being paid down, and no 401k savings.

I keep hearing people say that the regionals are a stepping stone. Maybe they are but that is no reason for the low pay. Come on!

I just hope you guys realize that you may never get a job at a major.

Duty Time
 

I can see getting paid for time spent on duty at airport adding up quite a bit. I would not oppose being paid for duty, but I also think it should be higher than minimum wage. The regionals would lower the flight pay to compensate anyway.

I really think now is the time to get our demands met. Something has to give here soon.

Paging all retards....... Retards listen up.

A 2:1 duty rig gives you 1 hour of pay for every 2 hours on duty. Much higher than min wage.

A 3.5-4:1 trip rig divide TAFB by 3.5 of 4. That = pay hours.

Solves a lot of problems. What most pilots don't get in this thread are that airlines would gladly OK this pay structure. And they'd take soft pay away to accomplish this, or just ding your hourly rate by 20% to give you min wage.

PILOTS ARE NOT MIN WAGE EMPLOYEES.

Same thing. Some morons are OK with working for a company with no cancellation pay. Others are OK working for a place that pays 50% of your pay to deadhead.

Wake up fellas. It is not that difficult. For a group of guys who claim to be "smart" many seem to be struggling with a basic concept here.

I don't want anyone's head to explode so maybe in another thread we can cover 401k matching.

Goodnight.

If you think you work so hard I invite you to join a mason who works a twelve hour day for 30 minutes for lunch. Despite that you spend the day hydrating you only use the bathroom at lunch. Then talk to me about all the responsibility you have flying around a state of the art regional flying machine. My comment was directed at the regional jet pilots specifically since thats where my experience lies. I am not saying the job shouldn't be rewarded but you have to realize the message is says to management when people show up accepting 25 dollars a flight hour of pay with a 75 hour guarantee and 1.80 in per diem. The pay is low at the bottom end but myself and everyone else accepts this with the intent of moving out of the bottom rung and sometimes you get stuck there. This is the risk you accept, but overwhelmingly in the past regional pilots have told airline management they are okay with this risk reward dynamic. My advice to people who pursue flying as a career is can you make mid twenties pay per year work for a while. If you are in a position you can't, do something else. It is fortunate that over the next few years major airline hiring will get things moving again and 6-8 year fo's will upgrade and or get hired out of their position and this will become less of a talking point. Management is trying their hardest to avoid breaking the regional model. Increasing pay at the regional level makes the model break. If you stop showing up to low paying jobs it will speed this up and most likely you will see the regional jet jobs go back the major airlines where they always belonged. THIS IS MY OPINION. Please differ with it if you like but don't take it personally.