I started this post to explore the posibilities and options for a fair and balanced approach to pilot pay at US for ALL pilots...East-West, Senior and Jr. The current system on the east has great gaps between all seats and aircraft. Is there a solution that closes the gaps, is affordable to the company so it stays healthy, and does not hurt pilots current pay or trigger another...wait for it...DFR?
I believe there can be an option B approach. It is in use at many other carriers with out the problems discussed here, however I do see it would be tricky to come up with two pay scales in the middle of all the other issues we are negotiating for. Tricky...but not impossible.
Thank you to those who offered insight and some hard numbers, and also to those with alternative approaches to changing our pay. It is hard to figure what the true numbers would be as we do not know the rates USAPA is aiming for with the new contract yet. That is why I am asking my reps to propose a motion and formally explore a plan B alongside the old plan A approach. Then a side by side hard comparison of the two plans can be shown and maybe even voted on going forward.
Other carriers have fairly Jr. pilots flying WB Int'l. We have one training standard...if you get on here and can't cut it then you probably shouldn't be flying Dom NB's either. There would be training issues as a shift to lifestyle vs. straight pay bidding would trigger change, but we have constant training right now. Down the road...(how far?) I think training would settle down below what we have now, saving the co. money. As for the differences between E/W and some group getting more up front...the older group would obviously get to the top of scales faster and have a larger raise to get there (but the east will have a larger gain anyway as the west have been paid more all this time and would get less a raise to come up to the new rates), but ALL pilots would get there as opposed to only SOME getting there under the old system. The younger pilots would actually make more money over the entire course of their career if done right.
My motivation for exploring this approach is to find a fair and balanced pay system for all our pilots, to take away the current environment of have- have-not, to restore our pay levels to that for which a professional, highly skilled and trained pilot deserves, and to instill unity in a very divided group.
A paradigm shift for sure...but if you think about it long enough, take out the BS, and look at it with all the right facts...I think it is a better way to go.