This is a press release concerning the recently signed contract between UPS and it's pilots. Fedex also just signed a very similar deal. Why would ANY pilot from the US bother with all the
that working for CX entails???:
New Contract Moves UPS Pilots Further Ahead Of Airline Peers
UPS' pilots union believes the contract deal its members ratified last week will join the new FedEx contract as the gold standard for U.S. airline pilots.
Although some clauses in the FedEx contract will be better than in the UPS contract -- and vice versa -- the two contracts will be very similar in overall value, an Independent Pilots Association spokesman said. As more details from these two contracts emerge, it is clear that the deals have moved the cargo carriers further ahead of passenger airlines in terms of pilot compensation.
UPS was already at the top of the ladder for career value of pilot contracts, said Kit Darby, president of AIR, Inc. and pilot hiring expert. Industry hourly rates are relatively tightly grouped, and some airlines have higher rates than UPS for the most senior pilots. But a higher percentage of UPS pilots earn the top rate, and retirement benefits are also higher, giving UPS pilots a more lucrative career value, Darby said.
The express carriers are in an excellent position now, and this should remain true for the foreseeable future, said Darby. They are well-placed to take advantage of rapid market growth and have experienced few of the setbacks that have plagued passenger carriers in recent years. The cargo contracts are "a tangible statement of how a consolidated industry like air express expects to easily pass through that magnitude of increased [labor] cost," said airline analyst Robert Mann, of R.W. Mann and Co.
IPA estimates that the new contract is worth $1.5 billion more than the current deal, based on compensation and benefits over the four-year term.
The UPS contract deal will see captains with more than 12 years' experience -- which accounts for almost all UPS' captains -- receive an initial 17.7% pay raise and a $60,000 signing bonus. First officers will see 18%-25.8% pay raises with an initial signing bonus of $40,000. There will also be a 3% pay raise every January through 2011. Airline analysts believe the FedEx deal includes an initial pay increase averaging about 9% and annual raises of 3%.
Aside from the wage increases, IPA said new job protection clauses were a high priority for UPS pilots. The union gained a guarantee that all flying between international destinations will be performed by UPS pilots and will not be contracted out. The IPA spokesman admitted the union had seen a small level of outsourced international flying, but it was enough to make UPS pilots concerned. Benefits and scheduling were also improved, although pilots did make some health benefit concessions, the union spokesman said.