People, people, people,
At first look this contract looked like something we could work with, but we needed to send it back to get a couple of fixes. After going to the road shows and seeing comparisons of other leading contracts ours really isnt that bad. Two things fall short, Fo pay for 44-59 seat and 60-69 seats, plus the 5 year term.
Captain pay is above most, but below some.
Our work rules lead the industry! I repeat OUR WORK RULES LEAD THE INDUSTRY!!!!!!
What everything boils down to is what a person brings home on their W-2. If you don't believe me I have seen two peoples last paycheck on what they made in the year of 2003.
4-5 year FO making $30.05/hr
$39,284
5-6 year SF-340 Captain (line holder)
makes $45.28/hr
$58,016
Work rules give you quite a bump in paychecks. So when you all talk about Pinnacle, Mesa, ACA, Air Wisconsin, Comair making $1-3 dollar more an hour than a Mesaba pilot ask them what pay is protected when a trip is cancelled, Ask about CDO's, ask about minimum pay garantee, ask about a minimum pay day, ask them what kind of scope protection they have, ask about training on the back side of the clock, ask about retirement, ask about jumpseats, ask about premium pay, And then ask to see their W-2 at the end of the year compared to a Mesaba pilot.
We fell way short in FO pay, fell a little short in Captain pay, and are also signing a 5 year contract. Mesaba pilots, by far, blew away the competion with work rules and scope. (yes we sold some for solid scope.)
At first my vote was a no, But now knowing the facts I changed it to an absolute YES