Also a computer operating system but that’s not important right now 🤓 I’m old.

 

Hilarious! Glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read your post.
Do you miss the AOL floppy disks that you could get everywhere at one time?
(next question will be: what's AOL?)

 

There are 2 separate rates: Lodging, & Meals & Incidental Expenses. Because the company directly provides our lodging, our per diem falls only under the M&I category. There is a standard rate, as well as individual rates for more expensive locations. To figure your personal per diem allowance, you have to add up all your layovers for the year & add the collective rates for all layover cities. Back in my regional days, our per diem was low enough that it was worth it to go through all of that each year and claim a couple grand in write offs for what I was being underpaid. (Currently, our rates at United are pretty much right at the standard rate, though slightly below higher cost localities.)

Technically, if we were making much more in per diem, we should be doing the same thing in reverse. (I.e., calculating our total allowance & reimbursing the feds for tax-free funds received in excess of that.) Because it’s a complicated process, I think the only way you would get into trouble would be on an audit; but if our contract rates suddenly went up by, say $1/hr, I don’t think it would be long before someone in the IRS developed a penchant for flagging UAL pilot tax returns.

In short, the myth that per diem increases are an easy tax-free alternative to wage rate increases is only true to a point, & I think we’ve basically reached that point already. Any significant increases to our per diem would probably start creating bigger tax headaches for us.

 

Someone posted an updated rumor:

5% retro to Dec 31, 2021
5% Jan '23
5% Jan '24
5% Jan' 25

No cost medical. (I assume that implies company will reimburse or straight up pay insurance premiums, but your guess is as good as mine.)

19% 401k contribution

No more FSB (airport standby)

Positive space commuting


No cost medical (which if true seems to me to be a HUGE get) and 19% 401k fits in the category of untaxed improvements and makes the "package" roughly equal to a 10-12% pay raise first year depending on ones personal insurance costs.


If this is close to true I'd put my money on 70/30 pass with the majority of pre-merger hires saying no and the rest saying yes. This would garner immense gnashing of teeth on the inter webs from the feisty old dudes whilst the younger generation quietly looks on with disdain. (sarc)

 

I would think that the company would automatically compute taxable per diem. However, I don't see this as something worth pursuing in a new contract. A lot of negotiations over peanuts. JMHO.

 

I don’t think that is legal. I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that when the contract reaches the amendable date that it is basically frozen and the only way to change anything is to amend it through a LOA or supersede it with a new contract.

 

There is a lodging rate, but that’s not the limit being discussed. Just the meals & incidental expenses (M&IE), like we get. If they continued to provide a standard rate, the excess over $59 per 24-hour period would be taxable. If they changed it to a locality-based system, even the highest places domestically like SFO aren’t that much at $79. The big difference would be in overseas locations (ex: LHR: $134/day).

 

Valid points on the value of nontaxable improvements. Toss in the rumored 'me too' 5% kicker and it makes the raises a little less painful. Still won't keep up with inflation unless the Fed chokes the economy into a recession. Wal-mart and Target quarterly reports indicates that a lot of inflation is currently being eaten by retailers. That will eventually get passed on to consumers and will keep inflation elevated for a longer time. And of course tight oil supplies worldwide isn't helping get inflation under ccontrol.

 

Like I said, it gets complicated with a micrometer because the total allowance will differ from pilot-to pilot based on your layover cities. But 100% agree, we’re talking about peanuts by that point- we’ve already passed the line where significant advancements can be made.

 

Thanks. Whether it's true that raises past amenable date can't be included or the company will never agree to it, it doesn't matter, as we'll never see it added in a contract.

I used to ask the same question about why we can't add in automatic raises past amenable date to encourage companies to sign a new contract so I understand why the question keeps popping up at new contract time.

Unfortunately, it's usually in the company's best interest to stall negotiations as long as possible after the amenable date. I doubt that will change.