I do not know much of anything about cuts that ExpressJet took. I know they furloughed 347 pilots but I was not aware it was combined with any concessions.
I was speaking to the bankruptcy situation. Much different than other negotiations.
I see and completely understand your point bLizZuE. But from the other perspective is that if you reward bad management by giving up pay and benefits, it becomes a regular option in their playbook.
On a full airplane, I earn $0.81 per passenger per hour. If that little amount of money is what is causing the company financial troubles, I don't feel that management deserves a second chance. Thankfully I don't work at Pinnacle, but quite frankly I'm not financially prepared if my company were to go out of business tomorrow. But I would still have a very difficult time giving concessions to keep the company afloat, and here are my reasons for that:
1) Say I give concessions and the company goes under anyway. I'm looking for another flying job, but other management teams have seen that my old company voted to give concessions. Under the guise of "remaning competitive" they massage the numbers, declare bankruptcy, and force concessions on their workers too. Now even if I find another flying job, the bar is lower and its just like the old place.
2) As an f/o, I simply am not, and will not be, making enough money at this company to justify "well, if I sacrifice short term to keep the company afloat, it will be worth it in the long run." What I am making now could be quickly recouped by leaving the industry and working almost anywhere else.
3) My company does not give a crap about me. If I was having financial troubles, they wouldn't "help me out." Despite the "thanks for all you do" emails, I am a number. Hell, I had to threaten to quit to be able to attend my own wedding. My company is so out of touch with employee morale they think that we want to friend them on facebook and make youtube videos about how much we love working here. They waste money on things like "employee appreciation days" where they give you ONE (don't take more than one!!!) soggy chicken sandwich that has been sitting in a cooler all day. Then they go on to talk about how we need to be more cost competitive. If I worked at a place that I thought was well run and that the company actually supported me and had my back, I'd be more than willing to help them out in a time of need. But I believe that is a slippery slope that would only result in them using it as a long term economic tactic instead of a move of desperation.
I certainly see your perspective, but I still don't agree with it. I probably would feel differently if I was a senior captain with nowhere else to go. But I'm not.