Just attempting to make lemonade out of lemons. The remote pay scale has always been lower than working in the office. The rationale behind the lower wage has changed over time. In the beginning it was to recoup the set up costs of the remote program, I'm not sure what those costs were. Then it changed to, "we have a waiting list to go remote, so seems that everything will stay status quo."
Once the union got involved, they negotiated a 5% remote increase for remotes. We have been given choices about our future, you can move to another office...Houston or Chicago, you can work remote, you can take a furlough with a severance package, or you can retire if you have the years and age. The only option that works for me is remote. I'm happy to have this opportunity, I am not in a position to move. I have aging parents and two children at the university. As far as extra hours being available, there's never a shortage of hours to pick up from other agents. Picking up from home for an hour or two is a lot easier when you just walk into your office, instead of getting up, dressed and drive into the office.
I am not going to post my income here for in a public forum. Since I am a Rates agent, believe me when I say that I have been running the numbers. Many people take pay cuts for a variety of reasons. Layoffs, career transitions, a job with better benefits.
My grandma had a saying, "Some days you are the dog, and others you are the hydrant" My fervent wish is the the new UA can somehow dig out from this massive hole its in. Just when I think it might be turning, it turns out that we have digging deeper. I know that several of you have an idea what might turn this around, and I have a few of my own. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.
On my years working on web support, I have spoken to a lot of you. I remember when I stumbled across this site almost 9 years ago. It has been an invaluable tool for me not only for the mileage programs but to check the pulse of then CO. I continue learning everyday, and wish to thank you all!