Time is running out

1ab

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Aug 21, 2002
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What is happening with this pilot pension problem. Will there be a solution announced soon. It would be nice if U gets out of BK by the end of MArch as planned because with the thought of war in the future or if there is a war will hurt U survival chances.
I am back to seeing the glass half empty as I await the pilots actions.
It is my opinion that time should be spent wisely since TIME is what we have so little of and since in U case TIME is so closely related to MONEY the pilots should have spent their time coming siding with the management about their plan and try to reach a new one in concert with the reorganization plan.
Most junior pilots I talk to are hopeful there will be a solution , Bitter ex PSA pilots I know is saying damn to management and everybody else..
So what will it be...come APrils Fools what will happen to U.
Lets get it together
 
1ab...there are no junior pilots at U anymore! With 18 years as a pilot for U and 17 more to go, I am like you, I hope for a solution by 3.31.03. If there is not one, my opinion is that the available financing will begin to unravel very fast. As each one of us evaluates the industry as a whole and then internally looks at ourselves, I think we can now see that what Siegel was saying last year is real. That's why he is recieving so much publicity. He is viewed as a credible industry source. So my major concerns going forward, just as you have expressed are a timely pension solution so that the MAJORITY of U pilots can complete their careers with and hopes that the economic effects of this IRAQ war can be minimized.
 
If he has any intention of keeping his job he won't go against the CEO & CFO. When they decide the time is right he will write their decision under his signature.
 
Item 1. The MEC’s grievance challenging the Company's unilateral action to terminate the pilots' pension plan was heard today at its initial level by US Airways Vice President of Flight Operations Captain Ed Bular. Captain Bular did not render an immediate decision and told ALPA that he will take the time to first become fully educated on the issues of the grievance before making his ruling.

Who is waiting for whom?
 
Have no fear ALPA will blink, emergence will happen because they have no balls to shut this company down and take an ethical and moral stand.
 
Some people confuse stupidity and courage.

The lowest paid pilot at U makes $86,000 a year. You tell me why it is better to shut the company down and make zero.
 
My strictly unofficial sources say that both sides are trying to reach a settlement outside of arbitration. Less messy that way.

Andy S.
 
[blockquote]
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On 3/13/2003 9:15:19 PM traderjake wrote:


Some people confuse stupidity and courage.

The lowest paid pilot at U makes $86,000 a year. You tell me why it is better to shut the company down and make zero.
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[/blockquote]
Nice to hear a voice of reason for a change. Some folks don't know how good they have it. Savy
 
A320, a utility person makes 17.13 an hour, times that by 40 and then by 52 and it is a grand total of 35,630.40, for utility person to make $75,000 a year he or she would have to work over 80 hours a week.
 
That figure is not true. A F/O reserve with 72hr guarantee makes about $75,000. Sounds like a lot but some cleaners make more. The "junior" F/O has been here 16+ years and works(gone from home and family)all weekends and holidays (no override pay).

My brother drives a tractor trailer 4 days per week(weekends /holidays off)for more than that.
 
Andy S--I agree with you. I believe they will reach a settlement outside of arbitration. In the event it goes to arbitration one side is going to lose and neither side is willing to take the risk. I believe both sides should forget about the compensation paid to the previous administration and move on. If ALPA pushes this issue, they run the risk of jeopardizing the lump-sum payments paid to the pilots who retired within the last year. I realize this is a volatile issue, however the judge's decision validates US Airways position that there is not enough money to fund the pilots' pension plan. ALPA is now faced with the reality of life on the street and a minimal PBGC pension or a monthly paycheck at higher wages than the average joe and a pension that falls somewhere between the current contractual pension and the lesser PBGC benefit. My money is on the second choice.
 
a320av8or said:

That figure is not true. A F/O reserve with 72hr guarantee makes about $75,000. Sounds like a lot but some cleaners make more. The "junior" F/O has been here 16+ years and works(gone from home and family)all weekends and holidays (no override pay).

DCAflyer replies:

A320, I am not belittling the f/o's situation, but isn't this, hopefully, a temporary sacrifice the pilots ar making? And isn't it second only to the thousands of others who are making the involuntary sacrifice of being laid off? Aren't all these sacrifices being made for the sake of possibly having a compnay to come back to and future seniority and stability?

The facts are simple, pilot pay has skyrocketed over the years (at ALL the big 6 hub&spokers) to an unsustainable level and this was one reason (only part of the problem, but a contributing factor nonetheless) that the airlines are in the trouble they are in. Mind you, I blame the CEO's as much as I blame the pilots unions for this. But it's time for pilots to come down a little closer to reality and see what living in the real world is like, where people (especially those who are fuloughted) are struggling to pay their mortgages and watching their cars being repossessed, and spending their retirement savings on food and shelter while the pilots are ready to shut the company down so they can keep their $72,000 a year in retirement. And even with all the concessions the pilots have made, they still earn VERY VERY good livings doing what they LOVE to do! I submit to you that probably 95% of the citizens in this country don't have that luxury!

Pilots aren't Gods. So they need to stop acting like they are, stop whining, and move on.