tripacer
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2004
- Posts
- 35
This letter was on our MSA web board
Please feel free to send your thoughts of this letter and our TA to our MEC at this email address:
[email protected]
==========================================
To My MEC, Negotiating Committee and My Fellow Airline Pilots:
First, to the Negotiating Committee, I want to extend
my deepest appreciation for carrying the current
struggle we, as Mesaba Pilots, have been engaged in
for the past 900-and-some days. Your efforts have
been remarkable and above expectations. I have no
doubts that your efforts and intentions have been to
win everything that could possibly be won for all of
us at the negotiating table. You must know and
understand that even though the results of your
efforts have fallen short, you have earned and deserve
the respect and admiration of each pilot here at
Mesaba.
Second, to the MEC, it must be stated that without
your leadership we would not have come this far in our
struggle for a fair contract. Also, I believe your
leadership will be needed more in the coming days than
in those past. I don’t subscribe to the thought that
you have sold us out. On the contrary, I understand
and know that your decisions have been guided by a
true desire to represent us as a group and at times
safeguard us from the harms of the battle ahead. I
believe your decision to extend the strike deadline
and bring to us this TA is an attempt not to “sell us
short”, but to offer us the choice for ourselves to
face the dangers of the road ahead knowing the
possible consiquenses. This I admire, respect and
appreciate. However, I must return to the point that
the current TA is drastically short, not of just my
expectations, but also of my value as a Mesaba pilot.
With the above statements made, it is necessary to
look at the proposed TA. In an attempt to highlight a
few of the shortfalls, I ask you to continue below:
PAY
The obvious and most easily recognized shortfall is in
pay.
- FO rates remain a single rate across the board
regardless of equipment and still remain in the bottom
half of the industry as compared to other CRJ
FO rates, not to mention other 69 seat and comparable
rates. When you look at the airlines who
remain below us in FO pay the only one which has
negotiated recently is Mesa, every other one will
leap ahead of us in the next few years. Considering
our 5 year term even Mesa will leap ahead of
us, leaving us at the bottom of the pay rates industry
wide.
- CRJ CA rates for the first ten years are an average
of $7.17 per/hr below Comair, an average of $6.45
per/hr below Atlantic Coast, and an average of
$0.82 per/hr below Pinnacle’s rate come this May.
- ARJ CA rates for years 1 though 10 are all below
Atlantic Coast’s and Comair’s CRJ CA rates.
- Considering the fact that these rates are so low and
we are looking at a term of 5 years, we will come to
the end of this contract and be so far below
industry average that in order to regain the ground we
have lost drastic measures and extreme pay
increases will be required.
MIN DAY & TRIP AND DUTY RIGS
Trip and Duty rigs are just simply missing. Forget
the look forward trip and duty rigs of Air Wisconsin
(that actually put money in your pocket); we don’t
even have non-effective look back rigs.
Min Day, even though an improvement, doesn’t apply to
CDOs.
RETIREMENT
With the majority of benefits in the later years, we
have failed to capitalize on the whole concept of
interest compounding. Granted these improvements are
needed for the senior pilots but something should have
been added to the earlier years. It’s the compounding
of money that generates growth of your 401K account,
not just large increases in the company match in the
later years. With many of us now looking at being
career Mesaba Pilots this is a very important issue.
RESERVE ASSIGNMENTS OUT OF ORDER AFTER 70 HOURS
This directly takes money away from pilots. For
example, take the senior build-up reserve pilot who
intentionally tries to pick up trips to maximize his
pay. If that pilot has been averaging 85 hours a
month before, they will now be cut back to their
guarantee of 75 hours. For a 6 year SF3 CA making
$48.81 per/hr (on our current rates, for new pay rates
as proposed add 5% to this figure) this means a pay
cut of approximately $5,857.20 over 12 months. For an
8 year ARJ CA making $68.12 per/hr (on our current
rates, for new pay rates as proposed add 5% to this
figure) this means a pay cut of $8,174.44 over 12
months. For a 3 year FO making $26.79 (on our current
rates, for new pay rates as proposed add 13% to this
figure) this means a pay cut of $3,214.80 over 12
months.
RETRO PAY
This offer has no “retro pay”. This is a signing
bonus, dressed up to look something similar to retro
pay, but in fact it’s nothing more than an enticement
to get us to sign this contract. Real retro pay is
based on the difference between what I should have
been making and didn’t, because the company was
delaying the negotiating process. Neither the CA’s 5%
or the FO’s 10% of 2003 W2 earnings has any
correlation to the difference between what I actually
collected in income and what I should have collected
considering the new pay rates. Also, we stopped
receiving raises on June 1, 2002 which was 19 months
ago, not just the 12 months of 2003.
LENGTH OF THE CONTRACT
5 years from the DOS is completely unacceptable. A
strong contract with real compensation and quality of
life gains could make a term such as 5 years more
acceptable. But with the contents of this TA,
absolutely no more than 3 years is acceptable. We
need to position ourselves for negotiations during the
strong economic times not the down turns of the
business cycle.
THE IMPACT OF THIS CONTRACT ON THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY,
OUR PEER GROUPS, AND US
In good conscience, we cannot ratify a TA with pay
increases which will undercut our fellow ALPA pilots
at Pinnacle who have willingly and overwhelmingly
supported our fight for a fair contract. This TA
represents a blatant attempt by management to continue
the “whipsaw” tactics against our brothers and sisters
at Pinnacle by having Mesaba pilots undermine the
Pinnacle MEC and Negotiating Committee before
negotiations even begin. By undermining our fellow
ALPA pilots at Pinnacle we in turn undermine ourselves
the next time we sit at the negotiating table. This
cycle must be stopped!
We have repeatedly said we should be in line with
pilots at our peer airlines, Comair, Atlantic Coast,
Air Wisconsin, and Horizon.
This TA does not even maintain the bar, much less
improve the bar. Our peers at other ALPA carriers
have pledged their support to our cause. A failure to
maintain the standards, that others have fought so
hard to gain before us, is a failure of our duty to
them as brothers and sisters in ALPA. The gains won
over decades of struggle will be squandered and lost
if not defended at every opportunity and challenge.
As Mesaba pilots, we are all highly trained, educated,
productive, and responsible professionals. The proof
of our skill, excellence and dedication is
demonstrated in the company’s performance and safety
record. This contract would transform us from the
proud professionals we are today, to the industry
bottom dwellers every other pilot looks down upon. Do
we want to be the scourge of the industry? Our
decision is not one between accepting this TA and
going on strike? Our decision is one of doing the
right thing or not? Ask yourself, am I going to sell
myself and my fellow pilots out to keep a job I enjoy?
Am I going to sell out and undermine the entire
industry? I know the professionals I work with every
day and we all know we cannot accept this TA! Anyone
who thinks we will agree to this TA is counting on our
fear of the hardships a strike will bring. I am
counting on the character and integrity of the people
I have come to know and respect! I am counting on the
courage of the proud professional I know of as a
Mesaba Pilot! We will never be the scourge! It is
time to let management know this once and for all!
We have not gone looking for this battle, but this
battle has come upon us. Our MEC has, without doubt,
done all that could be expected to protect us from the
harms a strike could bring, but now it is time for us
to stand and fight the fight that must be fought.
This struggle will be long and difficult. For many
the price will be high. But for all, the battle must
be waged. This battle is not about where we are
today, but rather about where we are going to be
tomorrow. This is not about our past or present, it
is for our future. Not just our future, but the
future of our airline, our industry, and our peers!
I ask every pilot who cares about our industry and our
common future, to print and sign this letter, and then
send it to ALPA, Mesaba MEC, 7900 International Drive,
Bloomington, Minnesota 55425.
I plead with everyMesaba pilot, now is our time to stand together, vote NO to this TA.
I plead with our MEC: stand by our demands and support our struggle as it unfolds. Now is the time for us to take action and VOTE NO!
===========================================
Please feel free to send your thoughts of this letter and our TA to our MEC at this email address:
[email protected]
==========================================
To My MEC, Negotiating Committee and My Fellow Airline Pilots:
First, to the Negotiating Committee, I want to extend
my deepest appreciation for carrying the current
struggle we, as Mesaba Pilots, have been engaged in
for the past 900-and-some days. Your efforts have
been remarkable and above expectations. I have no
doubts that your efforts and intentions have been to
win everything that could possibly be won for all of
us at the negotiating table. You must know and
understand that even though the results of your
efforts have fallen short, you have earned and deserve
the respect and admiration of each pilot here at
Mesaba.
Second, to the MEC, it must be stated that without
your leadership we would not have come this far in our
struggle for a fair contract. Also, I believe your
leadership will be needed more in the coming days than
in those past. I don’t subscribe to the thought that
you have sold us out. On the contrary, I understand
and know that your decisions have been guided by a
true desire to represent us as a group and at times
safeguard us from the harms of the battle ahead. I
believe your decision to extend the strike deadline
and bring to us this TA is an attempt not to “sell us
short”, but to offer us the choice for ourselves to
face the dangers of the road ahead knowing the
possible consiquenses. This I admire, respect and
appreciate. However, I must return to the point that
the current TA is drastically short, not of just my
expectations, but also of my value as a Mesaba pilot.
With the above statements made, it is necessary to
look at the proposed TA. In an attempt to highlight a
few of the shortfalls, I ask you to continue below:
PAY
The obvious and most easily recognized shortfall is in
pay.
- FO rates remain a single rate across the board
regardless of equipment and still remain in the bottom
half of the industry as compared to other CRJ
FO rates, not to mention other 69 seat and comparable
rates. When you look at the airlines who
remain below us in FO pay the only one which has
negotiated recently is Mesa, every other one will
leap ahead of us in the next few years. Considering
our 5 year term even Mesa will leap ahead of
us, leaving us at the bottom of the pay rates industry
wide.
- CRJ CA rates for the first ten years are an average
of $7.17 per/hr below Comair, an average of $6.45
per/hr below Atlantic Coast, and an average of
$0.82 per/hr below Pinnacle’s rate come this May.
- ARJ CA rates for years 1 though 10 are all below
Atlantic Coast’s and Comair’s CRJ CA rates.
- Considering the fact that these rates are so low and
we are looking at a term of 5 years, we will come to
the end of this contract and be so far below
industry average that in order to regain the ground we
have lost drastic measures and extreme pay
increases will be required.
MIN DAY & TRIP AND DUTY RIGS
Trip and Duty rigs are just simply missing. Forget
the look forward trip and duty rigs of Air Wisconsin
(that actually put money in your pocket); we don’t
even have non-effective look back rigs.
Min Day, even though an improvement, doesn’t apply to
CDOs.
RETIREMENT
With the majority of benefits in the later years, we
have failed to capitalize on the whole concept of
interest compounding. Granted these improvements are
needed for the senior pilots but something should have
been added to the earlier years. It’s the compounding
of money that generates growth of your 401K account,
not just large increases in the company match in the
later years. With many of us now looking at being
career Mesaba Pilots this is a very important issue.
RESERVE ASSIGNMENTS OUT OF ORDER AFTER 70 HOURS
This directly takes money away from pilots. For
example, take the senior build-up reserve pilot who
intentionally tries to pick up trips to maximize his
pay. If that pilot has been averaging 85 hours a
month before, they will now be cut back to their
guarantee of 75 hours. For a 6 year SF3 CA making
$48.81 per/hr (on our current rates, for new pay rates
as proposed add 5% to this figure) this means a pay
cut of approximately $5,857.20 over 12 months. For an
8 year ARJ CA making $68.12 per/hr (on our current
rates, for new pay rates as proposed add 5% to this
figure) this means a pay cut of $8,174.44 over 12
months. For a 3 year FO making $26.79 (on our current
rates, for new pay rates as proposed add 13% to this
figure) this means a pay cut of $3,214.80 over 12
months.
RETRO PAY
This offer has no “retro pay”. This is a signing
bonus, dressed up to look something similar to retro
pay, but in fact it’s nothing more than an enticement
to get us to sign this contract. Real retro pay is
based on the difference between what I should have
been making and didn’t, because the company was
delaying the negotiating process. Neither the CA’s 5%
or the FO’s 10% of 2003 W2 earnings has any
correlation to the difference between what I actually
collected in income and what I should have collected
considering the new pay rates. Also, we stopped
receiving raises on June 1, 2002 which was 19 months
ago, not just the 12 months of 2003.
LENGTH OF THE CONTRACT
5 years from the DOS is completely unacceptable. A
strong contract with real compensation and quality of
life gains could make a term such as 5 years more
acceptable. But with the contents of this TA,
absolutely no more than 3 years is acceptable. We
need to position ourselves for negotiations during the
strong economic times not the down turns of the
business cycle.
THE IMPACT OF THIS CONTRACT ON THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY,
OUR PEER GROUPS, AND US
In good conscience, we cannot ratify a TA with pay
increases which will undercut our fellow ALPA pilots
at Pinnacle who have willingly and overwhelmingly
supported our fight for a fair contract. This TA
represents a blatant attempt by management to continue
the “whipsaw” tactics against our brothers and sisters
at Pinnacle by having Mesaba pilots undermine the
Pinnacle MEC and Negotiating Committee before
negotiations even begin. By undermining our fellow
ALPA pilots at Pinnacle we in turn undermine ourselves
the next time we sit at the negotiating table. This
cycle must be stopped!
We have repeatedly said we should be in line with
pilots at our peer airlines, Comair, Atlantic Coast,
Air Wisconsin, and Horizon.
This TA does not even maintain the bar, much less
improve the bar. Our peers at other ALPA carriers
have pledged their support to our cause. A failure to
maintain the standards, that others have fought so
hard to gain before us, is a failure of our duty to
them as brothers and sisters in ALPA. The gains won
over decades of struggle will be squandered and lost
if not defended at every opportunity and challenge.
As Mesaba pilots, we are all highly trained, educated,
productive, and responsible professionals. The proof
of our skill, excellence and dedication is
demonstrated in the company’s performance and safety
record. This contract would transform us from the
proud professionals we are today, to the industry
bottom dwellers every other pilot looks down upon. Do
we want to be the scourge of the industry? Our
decision is not one between accepting this TA and
going on strike? Our decision is one of doing the
right thing or not? Ask yourself, am I going to sell
myself and my fellow pilots out to keep a job I enjoy?
Am I going to sell out and undermine the entire
industry? I know the professionals I work with every
day and we all know we cannot accept this TA! Anyone
who thinks we will agree to this TA is counting on our
fear of the hardships a strike will bring. I am
counting on the character and integrity of the people
I have come to know and respect! I am counting on the
courage of the proud professional I know of as a
Mesaba Pilot! We will never be the scourge! It is
time to let management know this once and for all!
We have not gone looking for this battle, but this
battle has come upon us. Our MEC has, without doubt,
done all that could be expected to protect us from the
harms a strike could bring, but now it is time for us
to stand and fight the fight that must be fought.
This struggle will be long and difficult. For many
the price will be high. But for all, the battle must
be waged. This battle is not about where we are
today, but rather about where we are going to be
tomorrow. This is not about our past or present, it
is for our future. Not just our future, but the
future of our airline, our industry, and our peers!
I ask every pilot who cares about our industry and our
common future, to print and sign this letter, and then
send it to ALPA, Mesaba MEC, 7900 International Drive,
Bloomington, Minnesota 55425.
I plead with everyMesaba pilot, now is our time to stand together, vote NO to this TA.
I plead with our MEC: stand by our demands and support our struggle as it unfolds. Now is the time for us to take action and VOTE NO!
===========================================
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