The real sacrifice comes from the rank and file employees that work equally hard to support the operation.
While our support folks work very hard and we do depend on them, I genuinely believe our pilots work harder, under ever-changing conditions and schedules that those folks don't deal with.
We earn the lion's share of the pay because we do the lion's share of the work out on the front lines. And when those support folks make a mistake,
we're the ones who are left the clean up the mess.
Wages that would get spread more evenly throughout the company get dumped into the contract, and rank and file employees get the shaft because the payroll bucket doesn't change.
As I'm sure NJA Owner can attest, the monthly management fees -- the source of our salaries -- have gone up to cover increased pilot wages. In exchange, we've been able to continue to recruit quality pilots who know the ins-and-outs of the system, who don't skimp on customer service, and who,
as the only employees our customers will likely see, will go the extra mile to give the best service possible. Keeping employees like that
costs money; it's as simple as that.
These are the people that work more hours a month, in many cases the same if not more education...
I'm not sure where you get the education assertion. Most of our pilots are college graduates with decades of real-world experience. Experience costs an employer money, in
any field.
As for the hours, I put in 216 hours at work last month (18 days, average of 12 hours a day), and that doesn't even account for time away from home in hotels. I don't see too many of flight coordinators pulling 50 hour weeks and sleeping in a different city each night.
Why is there such disrespect from the union members on this board? When a CBA happens, and pilots get their QOL, the money comes from the company and the rest of the employees get screwed.
You sound like Bush. With us or against us. Us versus them. Union versus non-union. Just because we're able to negotiate a payscale
commensurate with our position and experience, and have work rules in place to protect our safety and quality of life, does
not mean anyone else has to get screwed in the process.
And if these other employees really feel like they're underpaid and abused, they're free to use the provisions of the Railway Labor Act to negotiate their pay and benefits, just as we have.
I understand a little bit about sacrifice after being part of the colateral damage caused by the scorched earth attitude of two unions.
When a company gets to that stage, it's because the company and its management has made serious errors in judgment.
Management has driven the company into the ground. FlightOptions is a perfect example of this.