altiplano wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2019 9:17 am
Ignorant? Hardly. You are ignorant to the history and the way the labour landscape in this country had unfolded.
I never said that I went through flat pay and years of stagnation so others should.
We had TS and WS rates along with CARs work rules, and some other gems forced on us by an arbitrator so AC could be competitive in 2012, BECAUSE WE SAID NO.
We've spent the last 2 TAs trying to repair some of that, getting years of service back on upgrades at Rouge, getting a pension back for our new hires, trying to fix the CARs work rules at the LCC, etc... and those were big... some guys saw $20-30K gains on YOS alone, plus lifelong guaranteed 6 figure pensions? that's a big item. And we lost those things because other Canadian comparators airlines don't have them.
First 4 years, (all levels) yeah it's not where we should be... I want to see it gone, and I explained where and how it came to be... but still overall as far as career earning potential and benefits, AC is out in front in this country. It's not even close.
What pension do the other airlines in Canada have?
None.
Are their work rules better then ours?
No.
Are their rates higher than ours?
No.
How many came here from other airlines just last month? Let alone over the past year... Westjet, Sunwing, Transat, Cathay, Qatar, and other top paying expat airlines... every course is like that... Seems guys are seeing where the potential is today in this country... where the leading contract is.
Don't get me wrong, I really want to see gains here, I think our group has made crucial mistakes and our leadership has been weak, if not complicit in underselling us, AC Pilots have their problems, but it's not the only problem in this country.
Look at how US Pilots make gains, 1 after another, pattern bargaining.
AA gets to #1, UA is next and they beat that, then comes DLT not to be outdone and they get a raise our of contract to make sure they're #1 now... meanwhile JBL, AKA, ALG, SPT etc are bleeding pilots to the Majors so they get right up there too, SWA also keeps pumping along at the same rates as the top drivers in the country... SWA, isn't that what WS is modelled on? Why can't they march those rates and work conditions?
They all push each other up. It's everyone's responsibility to make gains and lift the profession. That's what has to happen here.
AC led North American carriers in pay levels in 2003... ABYSMALLY we haven't been able to make significant gains since, and went backwards a couple times... and still we lead all Canadian airlines today... what were Westjet and C3 and Transat guys doing those years... none of them were catching up... how many consecutive quarters of profitability at Westjet? and they can't get ahead of us? do you remember C3 340 pay? it was lower than AC RJs... Transat widebodies are paid lower than our narrowbodies... and meanwhile we continue to stagnate with downward pressure because of these low cost bottom feeders springing up... Jetsgo, Flair, Swoop...
That's what holds us back.
That's what keeps wages low... how can you make gains when no other national comparators are even close...
Can't make gains when guys have a chip on their shoulders about one company or another, or are too busy being a company guy, keeping it going at all costs... too weak to say no, whether that means shutting it down and setting the brake at contract duty time or 14 hours, or using your sick days when you have to, or not answering your phone on a day off.. that's a big one...
How many guys are working as much OT as they can? 16+ or 20+, days to brag about their T4? That's the problem, and it's a big one. More work isn't a raise and it hurts your position, and your profession.
Used to be we bragged how little we worked to bring in $250K or whatever. We need to get back to that.