FAcFriend, this recent article gives a good background to the situation as long as you remind yourself when you reach the end that the TA has now been voted down by 82% and the pilots are well on their way to achieving their other goals.
http://www.ainonline.com/issues/11_...dcotractp4.html.
It seemed to me that "kick-ass" pay was another synonym for "industry-leading contract"--that industry being business aviation. Many referred to the NBAA salary reports as a benchmark for setting the NJA payscale. It makes sense to me and sounds quite reasonable. Btw, SU does NOT use the phrase "kick-ass" pay. They are doing what the failed MEC should have done--using the pilots' surveys to tell them what to fight for. Fairness will finally prevail!
Overtime is paid but the pilots are absolutely correct that families shouldn't have to rely on it to help pay the bills. The salary should be sufficient, in and of itself! It is wrong for the company and the last MEC to count overtime toward a pilot's compensation because they cannot count on it being there--the chances vary w/the plane and timing--not to mention that they are gone more than enough as it is! My husband extends 2 days a month for the extra money and other wives tell me that their husbands would also but the opportunity isn't there in those planes. The pilots are demanding that overtime become "gravy" as it is for other workers. Working those 2 extra days puts my husband gone 19 days a month; needless to say, I couldn't agree more.
Benefits are better than our AF retirement ones and the NJ pilots seem to be mostly satisfied, as far as I can tell. They do say they will give nothing up--completely understandable--and I hear calls for NJA to receive the same benefits as the other Netjets companies, usually NJI. This also seems reasonable as they are in the same family DOING THE SAME JOB and a parent isn't supposed to show favoritism--right?
I've seen retirement mentioned on the pilots board and the posts that listed it as an important objective were well received. And why not? It is a staple of professional compensation, isn't it? Loyalty should be rewarded and the growth of the company in recent years does owe much to the efforts of the pilot force. I'd be shocked if the managers don't have a retirement program--wouldn't you? How do they justify leaving out the pilots? This is another issue that will be addressed in the survey, but I do know that the pilots want it to be a career, not a stepping stone.
Tax question: The pilots are aware that they will need to seek expert tax advice, but it's generally accepted that it would be better to have the pay as Retro which applies to the past years and can be spread out (by each pilot) to adjust what was previously made rather than being a lump sum that can lose more, tax-wise, in the year that it falls in. This is my understanding and I invite any of the NJ pilots to help explain it better if I am not stating the case correctly.
Staying in the AF was only possible for about 12-18 months longer as the funds for my husband's position were not being extended by congress. He had already retired in 2001--went back in after 9-11 and his subsequent furlough from AA--and as a condition to returning to active duty agreed that he wouldn't be eligible for promotion and the program was of short duration. Working as hard as his peers for less money was not attractive. That experience does help us to understand the NJA vs NJI frustration, quite well, however. This board has been rife w/second-guessing, and I can understand it to a certain degree. Pilots and their wives do it to themselves as well, but with more compassion. I'm not saying you are being cruel, FAcFriend, but others have been. It saddens me that pilots will do that to one another. No one has a crystal ball nor would ever have predicted something like 9-11 which changed the industry and cost so many their lives. That said, life does go on and pilots must provide for their families. It must also be said that NJA is one of the few companies that actually grew during the aftermath of 9-11. They are NOT like the airlines!
If the NJ programmer took the job knowing that he was going to be overqualified and the pay DOES match the job duties, (for the pilots it doesn't)then he may well have to look elsewhere. If the company is interested in retaining him because of his skills, he can try for a better salary. Either way, the company should never pay programmers more than pilots who are responsible for the lives of others, plus, very costly airplanes, and are gone more than they are home. If this happens then CLEARLY THE PILOTS ARE UNDERPAID! I sympathize if you or your spouse are also facing job pressures.
Hawkered, we're just getting started and there is a lot of work to be done. SU needs everyone to participate; therein lies our strength. Welcome to the team!
Netjetwife
