GFunk20 said:
My buddy just finished his second year at CHQ.
First year: $24,721
Second year: $33,748
He doesn't live with mom/dad either and certainly had no trouble getting X-mas presents this year.
Enough of your argument already.
And you're bragging about his wages? Is he supporting a family on $33K? Are you including per diem in his income? Because he would have to be paid 97 hrs a month at CHQ wages to make that much in a year.
Second year at CMR is approximately $40K. $45K with perdiem. Another raise coming in '05. I see that as a livable wage, not great, but enough that a single guy can survive, invest, buy a house and a few toys.
I don't usually get in on any of the CHQ bashing because I believe it is fruitless to call each other names and to judge others for decisions that were made in a different time and bargaining climate. I will say that they accepted a contract in which a second year FO will make about $10,000 less than their counterpart at CMR. They also top out after three years. Not something to brag about. However, CHQ is growing and CMR is not. In time, the money evens out, as long as the growth continues...
But what happens when it stops? We all know it must, at some point. There are truly going to be some unhappy FO's at that point who just missed the boat. Perhaps they are the guys at the bottom of the list now? Next year? They will be the ones thrown under the bus.
I am happy at CMR whether there is growth or not. I would prefer to upgrade sooner but at least I can live decently on what I make. Can the CHQ guys say the same when the growth stops there? We shall see.
None of us make what we would like to make or probably what we deserve. However, I believe the point of the original post (and many FI threads) is that all of our wages are headed in a downhill direction because companies like Mesa, CHQ, SKYW, XJET have agreed to work for much less than industry leading wages. If each pilot group refused to take less than the leader when their turn arose, all of our wages would be rising instead of falling.
All of the above companies are wildly profitable and thus can afford more. Would they have given more if really pressed in negotiations?
Nobody knows because none of the pilot groups tried to press the issue. Hence the anger of the CMR pilot group toward the others. Especially CHQ, because their growth and our stagnancy are directly caused by them settling for less.
Many of you perceive CMR pilots as having big egos and big mouths. There is a lot of judgment passed on other pilot groups, especially on this board. CMR guys don't think they are better pilots, a better company, or better people; they just can't understand why everybody seems to be caving in without a fight. If CHQ had rejected this contract and walked the line, maybe they would have gotten more, maybe not. The bottom line is that they didn't have the cojones to do it. That is why there is anger spewed, judgment passed, etc. It's not an ego thing.
I was not here for the strike but I admire what those pilots did for themselves, the industry, and for my career. They didn't just shrug their shoulders and accept a less than industry leading offer. They didn't throw the FO's under the bus to negotiate more for the CA's. They fought for what they got and now feel it slipping away because others were unwilling to pick up the sword.
Sheesh.
