AC,
Genuine question mate which I hope you can answer in an open, calm an honest way....
I've been scouring the internet to see what the Delta pay rates are and there seems to be a disconnect between your assertions and what I can find:
I notice that the maximum B747/B777 Capt pay rate is $254 per hour (is this correct?)
The guarantee is 65 hours per month (which I guess is useful if you break your leg or worse).
The pension contribution is 9%.
There is an hourly increase of $6 per hour overtime (over 65 hours?).
It doesn't mention minimum days off (is there a minimum over the regulatory?)
These are genuine figures I have retrieved from a couple of pilot pay websites so please let us know if they are wildly incorrect (but please state your source).
Looking at the above, it appears broadly similar to what I'm on having been here about 10 years:
Just looked at my pay over the last year in HR direct and I've made circa $240,000. Now, I'm NOT management (most of them earn less than us for your info), but I do take the housing allowance (so the company can pay off MY mortgage) and it includes my training pay.
Now I'm guessing TAX in the US is around 25%?? This would mean I've earned around $330k equivalent (notice I haven't included school allowance etc).
Now, clearly this is just a financial argument above and doesn't take into account the fact that I've been working my arse off (I'll translate: ass), and there is no doubt that Delta is a better job in that (and no doubt other) respects, but let's not kid ourselves, none of us (you included old bud), are young enough to join Delta at the bottom of the list and make senior B777 scales in the remainder of our lifetimes!
Like I said, the above is what I have managed to dig up and the questions I've asked are genuine. I'm not suggesting for one minute that we shouldn't get a decent raise especially in view of how hard we work and how much profit the company makes, but I urge you to respond calmly and factually.
Thanks