Moonlighting from Mesaba
For those of you interested. Took some digging, and I can't post a link, but the bibliographic information is posted at the bottom.
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On a brisk December morning, Mesaba Airlines pilot Ian Barrett got out of bed at 5 o'clock, hustled to the airport in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and flew a Saab turboprop and its passengers to the Twin Cities. After a brief stop at his Inver Grove Heights home, Barrett drove to the Mall of America.
There, Barrett waited on customers at the Napa Valley Grille. He left at about 4:30 p.m. and spent a few hours with his son. Then he donned his navy-blue pilot uniform and headed back to the airport to fly an evening trip to Thunder Bay.
Barrett, 27, doesn't know when he will step off of this two-job treadmill, where he earns $31,000 a year flying and $12,000 as a waiter. He and many other Mesaba pilots work second jobs, dashing the notion that all pilots live comfortably on six-figure salaries.
The issue might come to a head Friday night, as Mesaba pilots prepare to strike over salaries, job security and retirement benefits.
Eagan-based Mesaba, which provides regional service for Northwest Airlines, has been negotiating a contract with the pilots union since June 2001. After failing to settle their differences with the help of a federal mediator, the two parties are making a final attempt at reaching an agreement this week.
Time is running out. The strike deadline is 11:01 p.m. Friday.
About 65 percent of Mesaba's pilots earn $30,000 to $57,000 a year, according to the Mesaba unit of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).
"I only make $400 a week after taxes at Mesaba," Barrett said. "That's supposed to cover everything - living expenses, day care, food and a car payment. It doesn't. I have to work here [at the restaurant]. I have no choice."
Many Mesaba pilots interviewed say they love aviation, so they've chosen to stay with Mesaba and work second jobs to cover their living expenses. As the son of an Air Force pilot, Barrett was drawn to airplanes as a child. Flying was "something my dad held a lot of pride in," he said.
And there is the allure of flying itself. "I love seeing the aurora borealis, the sunsets and the sunrises" while piloting a plane, Barrett said. "It's not your typical office job."
Mesaba spokesman Dave Jackson declined to comment on the practice of pilots working second jobs.
"Pilot performance is excellent," Jackson said. "Our goal is to negotiate a fair agreement for the pilots that allows the company to survive and grow long-term."
Before the pilots opened contract talks in 2001, a union survey showed that about 17 percent of Mesaba pilots held second jobs, said Kris Pierson, a union spokesman.
Pierson, 28, is among the pilots who juggle two jobs. He works as a personal and business banker at U.S. Bank in St. Paul. Although he holds a four-year degree in airway science and has been a Saab first officer since May 2000, Pierson often can be found working the 2:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift at the bank. He serves customers who call the 24-hour bank help line.
He makes $13,500 a year at the bank working 80 hours a month. In 2003, he earned $34,000 as a full-time pilot.
Pierson, who is single, said earning a second income allows him to maintain a livable lifestyle and pay off his student loans. He started working at the bank before he got hired at Mesaba. With the bank job, "There is a lot of independence," he said. "You are basically one-on-one with your customer. It is a different environment completely from the airline."
Pierson estimates that the portion of Mesaba pilots now working second jobs has grown to 25 to 30 percent.
After the 2001 terrorist attacks caused massive layoffs in the airline industry, more Mesaba pilots pursued a second income because they wanted some financial security. More recently, the likelihood of a pilots strike prompted those with captains' seniority to find second jobs, Pierson said. (Mesaba employs 844 pilots.)
Matt Doehling, a farm boy from Winthrop, Minn., said uncertain contract negotiations led him to start Doehling Lawn and Landscape Service in April to supplement his income.
Doehling is a first officer or co-pilot on Saab turboprops, and his gross income averages about $30,000 a year. After mowing lawns and doing landscaping work last summer, Doehling now is plowing snow for businesses and homeowners.
"I've been able to just about match dollar for dollar during the summer what I was making with Mesaba," Doehling said. He and his wife, Jessica, live in Shakopee. She works in human resources for a health care company.
Doehling wants to improve his wages through a new contract agreement, but he advocates work rule changes so Mesaba pilots will spend fewer days away from their families each month.
Pierson said pilots are guaranteed 75 hours of pay per month. Their pay rate only applies to the hours that they are actually flying planes. Many pilots fly 85 or more hours per month. They are paid $1.35 an hour when they are away from their flight bases. Each month, some pilots spend 250 to 350 hours away from their flight bases, such as the Twin Cities, Pierson said.
That can be grueling on families, Doehling said. "I am considering getting out of the aviation business and just flying recreationally," he said. .
Lost dreams
Pilot Justin DeMenge still hopes to make aviation his life's work, but he concedes that his dream of flying for a major airline is "fading." Before the 2001 terrorist attacks, many pilots planned to fly for regional carriers, such as Mesaba, for a few years and then seek jobs at the large airlines.
DeMenge, 30, of Sauk Rapids, works a second job as a bus driver in the Sauk Rapids-Rice school district. The job is close to home, and "it also gives me more time to spend with my three kids," he said.
"My youngest son, Tyler, rides my afternoon route," said DeMenge, who flies as a first officer on Mesaba's Avro jets. "If we meet new people [Tyler] will always tell them first that I drive a bus."
Growing up in McGregor, Minn., DeMenge decided in high school that he wanted to become a pilot. "It's a natural rush for me to fly," he said. But before he got his turn in the cockpit, DeMenge worked behind the desk at Mesaba as a customer service agent.
DeMenge earned about $34,000 as a pilot in 2003 and about $10,000 as a bus driver. His wife, Carleen, is a special education teacher.
In anticipation of a strike, he said, "We've been trying to put away as much as we can" in savings. But he admits that they've saved very little money. His second income as a bus driver is essential to the family's budget and it's spent on everything from "groceries to lunch money for the kids."
When Barrett, the Napa Valley Grille waiter and Mesaba pilot, is not working, he spends time with his 3-year-old son, Alexander.
"I try and see him every single second that I can," said Barrett, who is recently divorced and shares custody of Alexander with his former wife.
Barrett tries to take Alexander to the Minnesota Zoo at least twice a week, and to squeeze in three trips to the gym to lift weights. "I need to do something for myself," he said. "I don't get a chance to go out to movies or anything like that."
Even though Barrett knows where every dollar of his paycheck goes, he does not express any fears about going on strike at Mesaba.
"Honestly, it's no big deal. The strike [benefit] that we'll be paid when we go on strike is $1,400 a month. It's $200 less than I make right now at Mesaba," Barrett said, adding that he'll pick up extra work as a waiter to fill in the income gap.
Barrett, who holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical science, said he believes he is underpaid for his work as a pilot. "We're professionals. We work hard to make sure everything is done right and safe and we give good customer service," he said.
After his deductions, taxes and $50 retirement contribution are subtracted from his gross income, he gets a check for $811 for two weeks of work as a pilot. "Can you live off of $400 a week?" Barrett asked. "That's a question I'd love to ask the CEO."
Barrett and others are ready to strike to win a contract that mirrors agreements at other regional airlines. "I'll be walking a picket line," he said. "Between walking here [at the restaurant] and walking there, I'm going to be so skinny when it's all finished," he joked.
Barrett added, "I have many college buddies who work for Comair and Atlantic Coast and Air Wisconsin, and they don't have to work two jobs to survive."
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Liz Fedor is at
[email protected].
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WHERE THINGS STAND
If they fail to reach a contract agreement by Friday night, Mesaba Airlines pilots are prepared to strike and shut down the regional carrier.
The pilots union estimates that 25 to 30 percent of Mesaba pilots work second jobs to pay their bills.
Pilots are paid $17,352 to $85,445 a year at Mesaba, according to union figures. Sixty-five percent of Mesabas pilots make about $30,000 to $57,000 a year.
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Subjects: Airline industry, Contract negotiations, Pilots
Classification Codes 8350 Transportation & travel industry, 6300 Labor relations, 9190 United States
Locations: Eagan Minnesota
Companies: Mesaba Airlines (NAICS: 481111 )
Author(s): Liz Fedor, Staff Writer
Article types: News
Section: BUSINESS INSIDER
Publication title: Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minn.: Jan 5, 2004. pg. 1.D
Source Type: Newspaper
ISSN/ISBN: 08952825
