NetJets, the private jet unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, is having a spat with its pilots union as it seeks to curb their benefits.
The problem for NetJets is that the private jet business is thriving, which could lead to pilot shortages.
"A lot of business jet owners are looking for pilots and can't find them," a former NetJets executive told the
New York Post.
But NetJets tanked when private jet use slumped during the financial crisis, and now the unit feels a need to cut costs "to meet Berkshire's demands for greater returns," the Post noted. That's naturally leading to conflict with the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots.
"This year and the next year are going to be the best years [the private jet industry] has had in the last decade, and we're not really in a position to capitalize on it," Pedro Leroux, president of the union, told the Post.
NetJets wants to keep the salary structure unchanged and wants pilots to begin paying some healthcare costs.
Meanwhile, Buffett, writing in
The Wall Street Journal, recommends an increase in the earned income tax credit (EITC) to combat the nation's growing income inequality.
"This widening gap is an inevitable consequence of an advanced market-based economy," he says.
"[It's] neither the fault of the market system nor the fault of the disadvantaged individuals. It is simply a consequence of an economic engine that constantly requires more high-order talents while reducing the need for commodity-like tasks."
Better education can help. "But even with the finest educational system in the world, a significant portion of the population will continue, in a nation of great abundance, to earn no more than a bare subsistence," Buffett notes.
A higher minimum wage isn't the answer, he maintains. A large increase would reduce employment big-time, while a small increase wouldn't help workers much.
"The better answer is a major and carefully crafted expansion of EITC, which currently goes to millions of low-income workers," Buffett argues.
"In essence, the EITC rewards work and provides an incentive for workers to improve their skills. Equally important, it does not distort market forces, thereby maximizing employment."
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