First year pay at Spirit

[waveflyer]

I would suggest this is exactly why not to increase first year pay. With all due respect, I want my union negotiating for my career, I don't want them spending negotiating capital for someone who is passing through and plans to leave. What also hasn't been mentioned, first year is probation. The pilot hired may not be suitable for the airline.

That's why it happens- but it's short sighted- aren't you united? How many times and total years have your junior pilots been furloughed? How many times have they had to re-enter first year pay after leaving good jobs to go back to united and get furloughed again?
No ALPA bashing- it's standard industry wide and will take the swapa critique- I only mention ALPA bc I think National is the only organization we have that could provide the leadership-

bottom line is that it is unreasonable for any of us to believe we won't go through 1st year pay often in our career-
if youare protected seniority wise- I'm asking you to take an honest look at what puts downward pressure on your own wages?
Outsourcing and 1st year pay are culprits 1 & 2.

We correct those and gains we make will be more stable.
This is a selfish argument from one major airline pilot to another.

 

[pipejockey]

I'm a little blown away at the vehement attack on the N/C for the first year pay in the TA. First off, do you want them fighting for more first year and get a little less elsewhere in the contract?
First year pay sucks, always has and always will, because nobody wants to pay more first year and pay less for the rest of your career. Right wrong or indifferent, that's the way our industry is.
Spirit's is 40-44.

In this day and age of the airline industry, you cannot expect that the day you sign on with an airline that flies large jets, that you will have that job the rest of your career. Just ask the ATA pilots, or the Aloha pilots. When we continue to make excuses for first year pay, we create an incredible burden on the many of us who will have to start at the bottom of a seniority list once again later in life. Now consider how many pilots on average are going to be first year pilots at Spirit in any given year. 100 at most? The additional cost of having 100 guys at first year pay of 50 an hour as opposed to 38 an hour would be about 1.5 million. Their 2009 net profit was nearly 100 million! We are talking about 1.5% of their profit. I bet the CEO alone is compensated considerably more than 1.5 million. Lets put things in perspective folks. We are letting management sh*t all over us.

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

Are you guys kidding me? At CAL newhire pay and lack of benefits are the biggest disgrace in a disgraceful contract.

and even bankrupt DAL can pay their pilots a living wage first year.

ummmmm.....Last I checked, Delta's no longer bankrupt and you fly with scabs....so there!!!

 

[Dewey Oxberger]

ummmmm.....Last I checked, Delta's no longer bankrupt and you fly with scabs....so there!!!

ummmmm...yeah, point being that when DAL was bankrupt they still kept a living wage (over $50K) for probationary pilots, while CAL wasn't even close to BK and still sold their newhires down the river, largely because of those scabs that you mention. There is so much resentment over this fact that I'm pretty darn sure it will never happen again.