The US Airline pilots who barely make minimum wage

[Hawkerflyer]

Interesting read.

http://skift.com/2013/08/28/the-u-s-air ... imum-wage/

[CpnCrunch]

Old news. The more interesting aspect is whether the same thing is starting to happen in Canada.

[Nark]

I'm still holding my breath for a new contract. Here in the US they never expire, only become amendable.
Ours has been amendable since 2007.
When it was put into efdect(2003) the biggest aircraft we had was a Saab 340.
We now operate the E190, and have an order for several C series.

[golden hawk]

Here's an option....

http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/29/news/fa ... ?hpt=hp_t2

Wave of fast food strikes hits 50 cities

By CNNMoney staff @CNNMoney August 29, 2013: 12:49 PM ET


Workers are protesting about pay and want their hourly rate to rise to $15 from around $9.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Fast food workers in 50 cities across the U.S. are walking off the job Thursday as they protest for higher wages.
Organizers say it will be the largest strike to hit the $200 billion fast-food industry.

Workers from fast food giants McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500), Burger King (BKW) Wendy's (WEN) and Yum Brands (YUM, Fortune 500)-owned KFC are calling on their employers to pay them a minimum of $15 an hour and allow them to form unions without retaliation.

Currently, the median pay for the fast food workers across the country is just over $9 an hour, or about $18,500 a year. That's roughly $4,500 lower than Census Bureau's poverty income threshold level of $23,000 for a family of four.
Strikes are planned in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York and dozens of other cities.

The campaign, organized by a coalition of labor, community and clergy groups called Fast Food Forward, has been building momentum since last November, when the protests first hit the national spotlight.
Organizers say retail workers from stores such as Macy's (M, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500), Walgreens (WAG, Fortune 500) and L Brands' (LTD, Fortune 500) Victoria's Secret will also go on strike Thursday in some cities.

Latoya Jemes, who's been working at a Memphis McDonald's for the past year, said she plans to join the protests.
She makes $7.45 an hour, and has to work overnights because she can't afford childcare during the day. Her mother watches her children during the night. "I'm a single parent of three, and I'm living check to check," said Jemes, 24. "I only have enough to pay my rent, and I might be able to squeeze out the things that my kids need, but I'm not making enough."

The protests have caught the attention of the White House. Earlier this summer, the "low-wage worker" protests were mentioned in a blog post written by National Economic Council director Gene Sperling and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Alan Krueger. They said that raising the minimum wage was part of President Obama's economic vision.

--CNNMoney's Emily Jane Fox contributed to this report. To top of page

First Published: August 29, 2013: 6:38 AM ET

[doorhandle27]

Every time I see one of these regional machines rolling down the runway I shake my head. After talking to former Comair, Republic, whoever guys now instructing at Flight Safety, I'm blown away how people got suckered into this game. Over priced training programs, paying for type courses without getting a rating just to get hired, pathetic. Now working their bags off for a measly 40gs a year after 5 years in with maybe, just maybe a whopping increase of a couple bucks for a left seat. This shit has been going on for years but still people line up as the regionals open their doors, AE even offering a 5000$ signing bonus, you'll make 25gs that year!

Sad and don't give me that shit about dreams and blah, be realistic.

[imarai]

The article references "..the mechanic at your local gas station.." Have you seen any "mechanics" at your local gas station lately? What era is the author living in?
(Goober died without a pension, but Sheriff Andy of Mayberry retired in Florida). The average gross hourly rate of a Canadian automotive technician ranges from a high of $25.64 in Calgary, to a low of $14.10 in P.E.I.
Secondly, every labour article I've ever read always quotes gross wages and salaries, never net wages. Benefits, taxes and other deductions vary from State to State, and from Province to Province. Also, the cost of living in Vancouver is quite different than the cost of living in Swift Current. What is a person to conclude?

Professional pilots need strong unified representation.

[Nark]

A few points worth noting:
Type ratings don't mean squat here, you need to go through the FAApart 121 training program.
Secondly, Eagle and Republic are offering signing bonuses of $5000. They still can't find pilots.

Lastly, we are not authorized to strike unless released by a federally appointed mediator.

[Shiny Side Up]

Sounds like this needs a replay.

[Alberta_Canada]

The article references "..the mechanic at your local gas station.." Have you seen any "mechanics" at your local gas station lately? What era is the author living in?
(Goober died without a pension, but Sheriff Andy of Mayberry retired in Florida). The average gross hourly rate of a Canadian automotive technician ranges from a high of $25.64 in Calgary, to a low of $14.10 in P.E.I.
Secondly, every labour article I've ever read always quotes gross wages and salaries, never net wages. Benefits, taxes and other deductions vary from State to State, and from Province to Province. Also, the cost of living in Vancouver is quite different than the cost of living in Swift Current. What is a person to conclude?

Professional pilots need strong unified representation.

I would say automotive techs make significantly more than what you have quoted. Most salary surveys for automotives are skewed because they often count quick lube places in the surveys as well. (as if a kid who changes oil is a technician). Some of the surveys even count apprentices which are obviously not licensed techs and also skew the results. The highest income I know of is at Northstar Ford in Fort McMurray. $67/hr for a master certified tech along with a $30,000 retention bonus after 5 years. $25/hr in Calgary?....maybe for a fresh journeyman who just completed their apprenticeship. Any additional dealer training easily pushes you into high 30s/low 40s for hourly income in Calgary. I've got a handful of friends still living in Calgary. Most of them are working for GM and are consistently pushing over 100K/year. I'm a couple hours away from Calgary where cost of living is much cheaper and our fresh journeyman are at 26/hr, with the experienced guys being in the $35-45/hr range.

[bmc]

My 23 year old daughter graduated from UVic in June 2012 with an undergrad in Psychology. Today, she is working a behavioural consultant looking after special needs kids earning $35 an hour. She will start her masters in 2014. When done that and graduates as a speech pathologist, she'll earn about $120 an hour.

With this kind of wages, day VFR on the west coast with a PPL is not a bad gig if you love to fly.

[tsgas]

A Toronto cop in their second year is making $107,000 plus great benefits.

Why would anyone want to become a glorified bus driver today anyway?

[Nwtflier]

In all fairness being a pilot in general is a pretty cool job, but I don't know about that regional stuff. Low pay, boring job and not even a cool airplane. Not for this guy

[GyvAir]

A Toronto cop in their second year is making $107,000 plus great benefits.
Why would anyone want to become a glorified bus driver today anyway?

Why would anybody want to be a Toronto cop? I'll bet the job even sucked in Mayberry most days, let alone in reality, today, in the smoke.
Which is probably why the the salary is so high... unfortunately as recent events have shown, high pay isn't a sure way to staff the force with good quality people. I wonder what effect an overall improvement in wages in aviation would have on its hiring pools?

[airway]

A Toronto cop in their second year is making $107,000 plus great benefits.

This is from the Toronto Police Website:

The following table represents the salary structure for Toronto Police Service Constables as of January 01, 2013.

Toronto Police Service Base Salary

Cadet in Training $54,398.66
4th Class Constable $60,455.95
3rd Class Constable $69,098.18
2nd Class Constable $77,736.24
1st Class Constable $86,365.94

I'm not sure how you advance in the classes, but I would think a 2nd year cop would be a 4th class.


For comparison, here is a Calgary Bus Driver:

If successful in the training program, Transit Operators are paid: (2013 rates )

Step 1: $25.45 per hour
Step 2: $28.63 per hour (after 1 year)
Step 3: $31.81 per hour (after 2 years) (approx. $64,000/year, $4000 more than a 2nd year cop in Toronto)

[GyvAir]

What's a Step 3 glorified bus operator typically get paid? Still far below that of either at Toronto cop or TTC operator, I'm sure.
I suspect the $107,000 number comes from the news reports concerning Toronto's current most infamous cop. That number likely includes overtime, etc. Pretty sure I read that he's at 5 or 6 years on the force.
Last I noticed on that story was that he was not and will not be tested for drug use in relation to the murder investigation. Can't even be asked to submit a sample. Try messing up and killing someone on the job while flying and see how long it is before you're submitting to drug testing. Maybe that's one of the benefits referred to in the earlier post; immunity to normal investigative techniques and prosecution?

[Alberta_Canada]

The police get paid for overtime when working on holidays, or when their shift is forced to go longer than planned. They also get paid extra for court days (court days often get scheduled on the officers days off which means they really cash in when going to them). There are a pile of extras that get thrown on top of the salary mentioned.