Letters from A Member.....
10-02-2015, 10:37 AM
#41
Organizational Learning
Joined APC: Nov 2005
Position: Directly behind the combiner
Posts: 4,948
Anyone who has read about our proposed A plan and doesn't see improvements isn't paying.Attention. The ability that it be portable to the money manager/portfolio director of your choice is a
HUGE improvement. Instead of the mediocre 4-6 percent one has been achieving year in year out, I will be using my families firm that consistently turns 10-14% year on average.
Who's not paying attention?
.
10-02-2015, 01:08 PM
#43
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,095
Pilots Are About to Get a 10% Raise -- What You Need to Know -- The Motley Fool
"....As a result, FedEx has historically boasted one of the lowest costs of operation for employee wage, salary, and benefits, out of any of the major transportation companies. "Salaries and employee benefits " cost FedEx only $16.2 billion in fiscal 2014 -- less than 39% of "total operating expenses," and an even smaller percentage of the company's $45.6 billion in fiscal 2014 revenues.
Now consider that although richly compensated, FedEx's 4,200 pilots only represent only about 1.3% of FedEx's 325,000 "team members." Even a large 10% increase in salaries, when applied to such a small sliver of FedEx's workforce, probably isn't going to break the bank -- or even appreciably raise overall labor costs for FedEx.
Simply put, while the money FedEx pays its pilots may boggle ordinary American workers' minds, this is a raise that FedEx can easily afford to pay. And even in the unlikely event that the pay hike does start to pinch profits -- hey, December is just around the corner. FedEx can always hike its prices by another 5% (as it does pretty much every year, like clockwork) to cover the difference.
Problem solved."
and
5 Things FedEx Management Wants You to Know -- The Motley Fool
We think it's a win-win contract. It is in our outlook for not just this year but our strategic outlook [...] where we [...] are expecting to continue to grow our earnings, our cash flows, and our returns. -- FedEx CFO Alan Graf
and from same article: "After the earnings report was released, FedEx's top executives spent an hour talking to analysts and investors to provide more details about the company's results. Here are five important points the management team emphasized."
and from the same article: "While this was a fairly generous contract offer -- and FedEx's pilots were already near the top of the industry in pay -- FedEx's management stated that it won't impact the company's projected profit growth trajectory. Other productivity-enhancing initiatives will more than offset the pilots' higher pay."
Last, from How We Overcame Cultural Inertia and Saved Millions
Shows how FedEx pilots saved the company:
"the processes and procedures we needed to make LTAET a safe, efficient, effective part of our operation. And thanks to our crewmembers’ buy-in, we can attribute almost $38,000,000 of our cumulative fuel savings to the regular use of these procedures."
and "Issuance of a Domestic/Flag certificate has given us the opportunity to reduce the amount of fuel carried on our aircraft on good weather days. We can attribute almost $75,000,000 of our cumulative fuel savings to this initiative." for us flying with less fuel and less alternates now.
and "(APU Runtime Reduction) ... this program has resulted in almost $227,000,000 of our cumulative fuel savings."
We pay for our "costs" in this contract fairly closely; do you really think our pay raise hasn't been accounted for--and mostly via savings from within the TA? Remember the hidden $800 million from BC in the 2006 contract. Has anyone seen a penny of that or actually received payment from Grid Penalty Events?!! Just like other posters have said, I bet a lot of that red and blue ink in this TA is just waiting for an unanticipated change or interpretation by the company that will make this TA as cost-neutral as possible.
We have earned increases, not merely cost-neutral tradeoffs in the TA. That's why I question whether or not giving back First Class DHs, HILO, and many other things "pays" for rolling deviation banks? Why do we accept that line of reasoning? Don't you think human nature will "pay" for the rolling deviation bank by people starting to save money where they spent to the max each month before so they didn't return any money? I know I took pride in using all but $15 of $8500 in bank! I bet the rolling deviation bank is nearly cost neutral or cost beneficial to the company as they save 50% each month, and they are just laughing at how we've been out-maneuvered once again.
Read much of the blue and red as giveaways that will likely be exploited. Here's just one example where you have to think like the company to see how they're far ahead of us. How are they going to save by giving us the hotel bank up to $10,000? We will be getting $35/$65 for domestic/international hotel cancellation, and this section of the TA will be cost positive for the company and will likely result in a significant degradation to our hotel quality. How do you think the company is going to use this? Where now, the company books, let's say a dozen rooms a night the entire year at Marriott X in city Z and the Marriott X is willing to suck up our onerous requirements for the rooms, the company will start cancelling rooms 24 hours in advance. Do you think the Marriott X, when it barely wants our business to begin with, and only takes it because we are a stable source of income year round, will want to take 3 cancellations tomorrow, 2 the following night, 6 the night after, etc, etc? Only a desperate hotel would agree to that and do we want to stay at a desperate hotel? We will be seeing a further degradation to our hotel quality and seeing FCIF after FCIF saying how this hotel or that one no longer wants our business. I can see the new FCIFs now: "Please tell us how you like the Super 8 as we are considering it as our new contract hotel in City Z"!
We have leverage; we will still have leverage next peak. The company can't hire its way out of this in just a year under our current CBA. We are just a cost center to FedEx, and they will give us the contract we've earned when the cost of delaying a TA with us increases. Why does anyone think they came to the table and plopped this TA down which we see today? The Ford CEO knows why and you should too.
"....As a result, FedEx has historically boasted one of the lowest costs of operation for employee wage, salary, and benefits, out of any of the major transportation companies. "Salaries and employee benefits " cost FedEx only $16.2 billion in fiscal 2014 -- less than 39% of "total operating expenses," and an even smaller percentage of the company's $45.6 billion in fiscal 2014 revenues.
Now consider that although richly compensated, FedEx's 4,200 pilots only represent only about 1.3% of FedEx's 325,000 "team members." Even a large 10% increase in salaries, when applied to such a small sliver of FedEx's workforce, probably isn't going to break the bank -- or even appreciably raise overall labor costs for FedEx.
Simply put, while the money FedEx pays its pilots may boggle ordinary American workers' minds, this is a raise that FedEx can easily afford to pay. And even in the unlikely event that the pay hike does start to pinch profits -- hey, December is just around the corner. FedEx can always hike its prices by another 5% (as it does pretty much every year, like clockwork) to cover the difference.
Problem solved."
and
5 Things FedEx Management Wants You to Know -- The Motley Fool
We think it's a win-win contract. It is in our outlook for not just this year but our strategic outlook [...] where we [...] are expecting to continue to grow our earnings, our cash flows, and our returns. -- FedEx CFO Alan Graf
and from same article: "After the earnings report was released, FedEx's top executives spent an hour talking to analysts and investors to provide more details about the company's results. Here are five important points the management team emphasized."
and from the same article: "While this was a fairly generous contract offer -- and FedEx's pilots were already near the top of the industry in pay -- FedEx's management stated that it won't impact the company's projected profit growth trajectory. Other productivity-enhancing initiatives will more than offset the pilots' higher pay."
Last, from How We Overcame Cultural Inertia and Saved Millions
Shows how FedEx pilots saved the company:
"the processes and procedures we needed to make LTAET a safe, efficient, effective part of our operation. And thanks to our crewmembers’ buy-in, we can attribute almost $38,000,000 of our cumulative fuel savings to the regular use of these procedures."
and "Issuance of a Domestic/Flag certificate has given us the opportunity to reduce the amount of fuel carried on our aircraft on good weather days. We can attribute almost $75,000,000 of our cumulative fuel savings to this initiative." for us flying with less fuel and less alternates now.
and "(APU Runtime Reduction) ... this program has resulted in almost $227,000,000 of our cumulative fuel savings."
We pay for our "costs" in this contract fairly closely; do you really think our pay raise hasn't been accounted for--and mostly via savings from within the TA? Remember the hidden $800 million from BC in the 2006 contract. Has anyone seen a penny of that or actually received payment from Grid Penalty Events?!! Just like other posters have said, I bet a lot of that red and blue ink in this TA is just waiting for an unanticipated change or interpretation by the company that will make this TA as cost-neutral as possible.
We have earned increases, not merely cost-neutral tradeoffs in the TA. That's why I question whether or not giving back First Class DHs, HILO, and many other things "pays" for rolling deviation banks? Why do we accept that line of reasoning? Don't you think human nature will "pay" for the rolling deviation bank by people starting to save money where they spent to the max each month before so they didn't return any money? I know I took pride in using all but $15 of $8500 in bank! I bet the rolling deviation bank is nearly cost neutral or cost beneficial to the company as they save 50% each month, and they are just laughing at how we've been out-maneuvered once again.
Read much of the blue and red as giveaways that will likely be exploited. Here's just one example where you have to think like the company to see how they're far ahead of us. How are they going to save by giving us the hotel bank up to $10,000? We will be getting $35/$65 for domestic/international hotel cancellation, and this section of the TA will be cost positive for the company and will likely result in a significant degradation to our hotel quality. How do you think the company is going to use this? Where now, the company books, let's say a dozen rooms a night the entire year at Marriott X in city Z and the Marriott X is willing to suck up our onerous requirements for the rooms, the company will start cancelling rooms 24 hours in advance. Do you think the Marriott X, when it barely wants our business to begin with, and only takes it because we are a stable source of income year round, will want to take 3 cancellations tomorrow, 2 the following night, 6 the night after, etc, etc? Only a desperate hotel would agree to that and do we want to stay at a desperate hotel? We will be seeing a further degradation to our hotel quality and seeing FCIF after FCIF saying how this hotel or that one no longer wants our business. I can see the new FCIFs now: "Please tell us how you like the Super 8 as we are considering it as our new contract hotel in City Z"!
We have leverage; we will still have leverage next peak. The company can't hire its way out of this in just a year under our current CBA. We are just a cost center to FedEx, and they will give us the contract we've earned when the cost of delaying a TA with us increases. Why does anyone think they came to the table and plopped this TA down which we see today? The Ford CEO knows why and you should too.
The $1.67B might be money coming our direction. But, fuel savings alone reduces that amount by 1/5th.
What about the additional 5 years our guys have been giving the company since age 65 passed?
What about the max 6%/year in medical going up to 10%/year from figures that are still largely unknown (to us)?
What about HILO (Mid seniority pilots I know were able to use between $10-28K in tax free HILO over 2 year timeframe!)?
What about lay flat seats?
What about the SLR implementation?
The additional productivity by guys "dying while they try" for SLB?
Hotel cancellations? And continued reduction in hotel quality?
As Encanto said in another thread: We have aimed too low during our negotiations with a mega-profitable corporation we have directly contributed to. We are not being rewarded with this TA, in a manner commensurate with our contributions to that financial success.
10-02-2015, 02:06 PM
#44
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2014
Posts: 296
Anyone who has read about our proposed A plan and doesn't see improvements isn't paying.Attention. The ability that it be portable to the money manager/portfolio director of your choice is a
HUGE improvement. Instead of the mediocre 4-6 percent one has been achieving year in year out, I will be using my families firm that consistently turns 10-14% year on average.
HUGE improvement. Instead of the mediocre 4-6 percent one has been achieving year in year out, I will be using my families firm that consistently turns 10-14% year on average.
10-02-2015, 02:59 PM
#46
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2008
Position: 757 Capt
Posts: 107
Thanks Mike and Anita for standing up for the average line guys.
It is going to take a grass roots effort to get the word out to the crew force, so they can make an informed vote. Our own union continues to work against us and try and sell us this wholly inadequate deal as a winner. If we get major improvements to our contract think how much pressure that will put on ALPA national as they negotiate subsequent contracts for their other customers. They need us to take a mediocre deal so they can bring the herd back together. If we get the deal we truly deserve other carriers will be dumping ALPA like a bad habit.
It is going to take a grass roots effort to get the word out to the crew force, so they can make an informed vote. Our own union continues to work against us and try and sell us this wholly inadequate deal as a winner. If we get major improvements to our contract think how much pressure that will put on ALPA national as they negotiate subsequent contracts for their other customers. They need us to take a mediocre deal so they can bring the herd back together. If we get the deal we truly deserve other carriers will be dumping ALPA like a bad habit.
10-02-2015, 06:41 PM
#49
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2013
Posts: 2,756
It is going to take a grass roots effort to get the word out to the crew force, so they can make an informed vote. Our own union continues to work against us and try and sell us this wholly inadequate deal as a winner. If we get major improvements to our contract think how much pressure that will put on ALPA national as they negotiate subsequent contracts for their other customers. They need us to take a mediocre deal so they can bring the herd back together. If we get the deal we truly deserve other carriers will be dumping ALPA like a bad habit.
So if everyone dumps ALPA, where do we all go? The FPA was the definition of weak. You got something better in mind?
10-02-2015, 06:45 PM
#50
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,199
You just gave me my second reason to vote no. I think the TA should include bourbon of our choice in all limos between the ramp and the hotel. We deserve it.
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