There is nothing unbiased about this issue.
Mainline guys think they need scope clauses to protect "their" flying. They feel cheated when management uses a lower cost option (i.e. regional) to save the company money and increase profitability. They also feel cheated when they have guys on the street while the associated regionals are hiring...since they feel they work for the "same" company. Funny thing here is that when it comes to pilot hiring it's the "same" company...but when it comes to routes it's "their" routes. They could solve many of their problems with "one list," but greed and egos prevent that.
Regional guys think the mainline guys are screwing them with scope clauses, and deals like jets for jobs...where mainline guys with no flow through get to take regional positions and put regional guys on furlough, because, apparently, mainline families and their mortages are more important than regional families and mortages. Realize that regional guys pay their dues to the same union that got the jet for jobs deal for the US Air mainline guys at the expense of their regional ALPA "brothers." This is precisely why there is an RJDC.
As you read through all the comments on this issue, you'll see much emotion about "our routes, our jobs, management screwing pilots" etc. Try to look past that and look at economic realities.
If revenu doesn't meet expenses (of which employee salaries and benefits are a huge part) then eventually a company must declare bankruptcy, where it will a) lower its expenses to match revenu or b) cease to exist.
Many pilots in the industry are willing to risk their company and the jobs of everyone at the company to get "max pay to the last day," because they "paid their dues" over the years and now "deserve" every penny they get. If you ask them why they're doing this, you'll hear something to the effect of "we're preserving the profession for all those who are to come behind us." In fact, the ALPA "brotherhood" stops at the pocketbook, and 9/11 has shown this very clearly, where guys making $200,000-$300,000/yr are unwilling to give up anything to keep the jobs of the junior brothers.
So what's the solution?
Here's my humble opinion:
1. All pilots groups owned by a company need to become one list. This eliminates the "us vs them" mentality, and increases pilot bargaining power.
2. Everyone starts out flying an RJ, and goes from there.
3. There should be (and this is heresy to ALPA), one FO payscale and one CA payscale, no matter what plane you fly. Imagine the training cost savings if every month pilots weren't changing planes to get the next bigger paycheck. What seems fair? I don't know, but something like.
FO's 50K-125K based on longevity
CA's 130k-200K based on longevity
There is precedence for this. UPS has one rate for their FEs, FOs, and CAs. All UPS CAs make about 200K after 10 years, and the FOs make about 130K after 10 years.
4. Base salaries (more heresy) will have to be matched to anticipated revenu (in an average year...not the boom years of the late 90s), which means some salaries for the larger aircraft will have to come down. This will help ensure that even in down times, as we're seeing now, the company will not have to declare bankruptcy. In good times, sure, let's all take part in the wealth with a profit sharing plan. But the company cost overhead cost structure must be able to absorb some bad times, and the employees will just have to live off their base salaries during those times.
5. Elimination of "probation pay." This is nothing more than disguised pay for training.
Now, how do we implement this without "screwing people." Well, if everyone is willing to give a little for the good of the whole, seniority list integration can be accomplished.
As for salary reduction on certain aircraft here's my plan:
On the day the contract is signed, if a pilot is making over the prescribed limits above, he gets to keep his current salary (with cost of living increases) as his max salary until he/she retires, no matter what the aircraft (unless it's an FO upgrading to CA). This way, no pilot is asked to take a pay cut, but he/she sacrifices the future prospect of the "big bucks" for the good of the pilot group as a whole.
It works at Southwest, it works at Jet Blue, it works at Frontier, it works Airtran...all making money or at least not facing bankruptcy after 9/11.
It just comes down to ALPA as a whole having the vision to make fundamental reforms to ensure a stable, strong group of good paying pilots jobs...rather than fighting tooth and nail to protect the excessive pay and benefits of a few, at the expense of the rest of the ALPA "brotherhood."
Good luck finding "unbiased" research on scope. If you do find something, post it her for the rest of us to read.
) so I'll go get off my lazy butt and get them. As someone who's hopefully on the way to the airlines (if I don't take the corporate route more open to me at the moment) I just feel like I should know an awful lot more than I do. Thanks again
