Smacktard
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2003
- Posts
- 967
Ok, I just wanted to point out the obvious. Currently the company is proposing a 13% cut for the 60-79 seat category. For those questioning how much that really is, it takes a second year FO from 37.24 an hour to 32.82 an hour. For a typical 82 hour line, that's $290 a month. It would take this same FO 4 more years to get back to this payrate. What it also does is place us in the bottom bracket as wage earners in the regional industry (just a notch above our Mesa whoring cohorts).
The 50 seat guys are thinking, “hey, that's ok, there are only 190 70 seat FOs. Let them take the hit and we all get the 'growth'.” The problem with his mentality is that #1, what do you think will happen to your beloved 50 after signing this contract?
It will be gone, replaced with a 70.
Where will that put you?
In the right seat of a 70 with a pay rate of less than the 50 (and less than your SkyWest counterparts) and #2, you are being asked to fund the growth of the company for the benefit of others. The company's claim is that this is good for you because you will upgrade sooner. Did this work for Comair? Has it worked reliably for others in the past? If we don't get growth, can we go back to the old pay scale?
Probably the single largest part of this that is the most insulting, is that the pilots, and only the pilots are being asked to fund the further profitability of the company. I agree, working for a profitable company is good. But if you asked Bryan Lebreque to keep his salary and bonus the same, but do more work from the company do you honestly think he would do that? If you asked investors to put up more money for the same return, would they be willing to do that?
Why is it in our interest to fly bigger planes for less to INCREASE the profitability of the company WITHOUT any incentive to do so? Business is business. If they want us to accept risk to further benefit the group, why shouldn't we be rewarded if the plan succeeds? Is my only reward to move up to a better position (at a lower salary than it is today?) If the plan doesn't succeed, why do we have to eat the risk? Business is business. It's not my plan, I don't want to have to foot the responsibility for implementing a plan when I don't feel that the 'implementers' can reliably do the job. Today's word is confidence. I don't have the CONFIDENCE in my leadership to TRUST them with my livelihood. They have not proven that they are able to do that while keeping their word. Yes, they can make a profit, but we aren’t being rewarded for the efforts we make. We’re being punished.
Jerry Atkin seems like the type of individual I would trust in implementing this plan. He has, however, already made one colossal mistake. He has left the existing ASA management team in to negotiate his vision to this group. Their inability to manage is costing him dearly. I would argue that his window of opportunity (that being to make ASA a willing and able participant in his plans for global domination) is closing.
Mr Atkin, please become more involved in this process so that this unit of your company can show you what we're able to do. It is not a threat when I say that disgruntled pilots inefficiently control the most expensive unit of your product. As a disgruntled employee, I am not an efficient one. Content pilots that feel as if they’re part of the team are much happier and have less stress and are willing to absorb some of the inefficiencies, making the OVERALL PRODUCT MORE PROFITABLE. That is, after all, what we’re after here, right?
So, what is the point of all this blathering? The point is, I think there is plenty of room for improvement to add to the bottom line. I think this can be done in a manner which rewards those that make the effort. I believe a major contributor is the pilot group. Rather than punish this group by strong arming them into submission, use them to your benefit. They will also lead by example and I think that can be a huge thing for the operations side of ASA.
The 50 seat guys are thinking, “hey, that's ok, there are only 190 70 seat FOs. Let them take the hit and we all get the 'growth'.” The problem with his mentality is that #1, what do you think will happen to your beloved 50 after signing this contract?
It will be gone, replaced with a 70.
Where will that put you?
In the right seat of a 70 with a pay rate of less than the 50 (and less than your SkyWest counterparts) and #2, you are being asked to fund the growth of the company for the benefit of others. The company's claim is that this is good for you because you will upgrade sooner. Did this work for Comair? Has it worked reliably for others in the past? If we don't get growth, can we go back to the old pay scale?
Probably the single largest part of this that is the most insulting, is that the pilots, and only the pilots are being asked to fund the further profitability of the company. I agree, working for a profitable company is good. But if you asked Bryan Lebreque to keep his salary and bonus the same, but do more work from the company do you honestly think he would do that? If you asked investors to put up more money for the same return, would they be willing to do that?
Why is it in our interest to fly bigger planes for less to INCREASE the profitability of the company WITHOUT any incentive to do so? Business is business. If they want us to accept risk to further benefit the group, why shouldn't we be rewarded if the plan succeeds? Is my only reward to move up to a better position (at a lower salary than it is today?) If the plan doesn't succeed, why do we have to eat the risk? Business is business. It's not my plan, I don't want to have to foot the responsibility for implementing a plan when I don't feel that the 'implementers' can reliably do the job. Today's word is confidence. I don't have the CONFIDENCE in my leadership to TRUST them with my livelihood. They have not proven that they are able to do that while keeping their word. Yes, they can make a profit, but we aren’t being rewarded for the efforts we make. We’re being punished.
Jerry Atkin seems like the type of individual I would trust in implementing this plan. He has, however, already made one colossal mistake. He has left the existing ASA management team in to negotiate his vision to this group. Their inability to manage is costing him dearly. I would argue that his window of opportunity (that being to make ASA a willing and able participant in his plans for global domination) is closing.
Mr Atkin, please become more involved in this process so that this unit of your company can show you what we're able to do. It is not a threat when I say that disgruntled pilots inefficiently control the most expensive unit of your product. As a disgruntled employee, I am not an efficient one. Content pilots that feel as if they’re part of the team are much happier and have less stress and are willing to absorb some of the inefficiencies, making the OVERALL PRODUCT MORE PROFITABLE. That is, after all, what we’re after here, right?
So, what is the point of all this blathering? The point is, I think there is plenty of room for improvement to add to the bottom line. I think this can be done in a manner which rewards those that make the effort. I believe a major contributor is the pilot group. Rather than punish this group by strong arming them into submission, use them to your benefit. They will also lead by example and I think that can be a huge thing for the operations side of ASA.
Crash, I understand what you are saying about skywst agreement and whatnot! But there is NO WAY I am going to take an hourly cut just to get what they have now....which is a payscale for what? 3 years ago! Forget IT! Our idiotic mgmnt is not even willing to give us the otherside of what those guys have (dty rigs/proft sharg etc)! That is UNACCEPTABLE!! If they want to try and train those guys to fly our routes....then so be it!@ I dare say they will have "A LOT" more airplanes sitting rather than flying! I know that skywst has money, but they don't have THAT much money. Our airplanes parked, will really hurt them! JA needs to get off his @ss and get rid of our mgmnt and get control of the situation he is about to lose control of and I mean FAST!!!
