Original Message

Just a word of caution to all of you would be ship jumpers from a guy with 41 years civilian, after leaving the Army in 1981 (PHI, RMH, CJ, Keystone and AMC).

I have chased those greener pastures (sometimes out of necessity for pay sometimes for strategy) so I have been there and done that.

If it is not codified in a CBA, the raises and bonuses, etc. are at the discrestion of "the company" and subject to freezes, reductions, elimination, etc. by the bean counters.

At least this 14% raise, I expect, will be the starting point for salary negotiations with Local 109 currently underway.

Remember, with a CBA, "the company" cannot cut your pay/benefits as directed by the bean counters in the future, without it you could very well end up worse off than when you moved (for instance, 1988-1993, RMH, ZERO, zilch, nada as a pay increase, 5 years, I lived it).