[Superman]

That's tragic on several levels. This is one of those times when you wish/hope for the absolute coolest, calmest professional demeanor combined with the perfect choice of exactly the best words and phrases. You have a meeting with her. You explain that what she's doing is torpedoing your career. Point to the 25% pay increase. Point to the opportunity to work with an A-Team (they exist in many organizations and their members are indeed envied). Point to the fact that these opportunities do not come often and her denial could set your career back many years. Make sure she understand that she is pulling tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars of future earnings directly out of her pocket. She'll resist, and she'll probably miss all the relevant signals, and she'll not really know what's going on. But she's got to understand that what you're saying is that this is a direct, personal hit on you and your family, and probably worth a fight-to-the-death. make her remind herself that she's screwed up plenty lately (I'm sure she has), and is under scrutiny by upper management. Mention her staff retention rate, without insulting her.

And again, make her recognize all these facts in the context that this is a direct personal injury to you and your family, and that while it would be sweet to imagine that you will just go quietly back to your work station and put your shoulder back against the wheel......in reality you are more likely to press the issue to the point where mamagement asks themselves again the question they have probably asked before.....is she worth it? And even if she wins, she draws the ire of your co-workers and loses any loyalty you have have had toward her in the past.

It all would have to be done VERY VERY gently, but even stupid people can be made to grok simple concepts under the right circumstances.