Splert
PoipuBayResort15thTBox
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2001
- Posts
- 1,188
Okay. To all the fence sitters, no voters and abstainers: Let's for a moment assume that all your points are valid. The company will always do the right thing and the furlough protection and the M&A language in our personal contracts are all rock solid. Even if this is all true we still have serious issues affecting the pilot group that cannot be legally addressed without a CBA.
1. There are GAPING holes in our LOL insurance and workmans comp. I use the term 'workmans comp' on purpose because that's exactly what it is. If you get hurt on the job you will get the exact same amount of money as a gate agent will get. I forget the exact amount, but if you are JFK based it's $400 and change per week. That's it.
2. Our 401K plan is in DIRE need of a correction because of ERISA. The plan is out of balance and the company has to fix it or face heavy tax consequences. So far they've chosen to throw extra money at the low end to bring it into balance. At some point that will become cost prohibitive. Then they will in all likelihood recoup a portion of your contributions and subject them to taxes and/or penalties.
That's just two issues. There are other concerns about LOL and WC in regards to maintaining your medical insurance. At some point in one of them you resort to COBRA out of pocket. None of this can be fixed without a CBA. It's illegal to treat us differently from every other employee. A union of some sort is the only way I know of to legally separate us from the rest of the herd.
Forget work rules, rigs, pay scales, M&A, furloughs, etc, etc. I agree those are all important, but any of those could be addressed sans a CBA. The ERISA problem and our LOL cannot. That alone is worth voting yes IMO.
ERISA is the reason that elag777 is wrong about what our PEA guarantees. He needs to re read our PEA. Not one thing he stated is in our PEA. In fact the health and welfare benefit language of our PEA is a charade. It is very cleverly written. The plan details of each health and welfare plan are contained within the specific SPD and those are amendable at anytime and as the PCRB reported are outside the scope of the PEA.
In short the 5% PS is not guaranteed and the company can change the plan (every plan) at anytime and would not have to issue an amended PEA for us to accept or decline.
As far as health and welfare benefits our PEA guarantees us nothing. It is a sham and those that promote it are lying to the pilot group.
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