Low & Slow

Just heard rumor that the UA pilots have a TA to address some of the shortcomings of their bankruptcy contract - anyone have details?

REAL Pilot

Currently an "outline" to be finalized into a LOA. Predominately scheduling and duty rig improvements: Narrowbody monthly cap reduced to 89hrs with a 70hr guarantee, seat freeze reductions, temporarily increase 747/777 cap to 96hrs monthly to cover new China flying, and the ablity to do training CBT's at home(for pay). Also, improved PBS "floors".

Plus, we have a planned 1.5% raise coming in May.

Low & Slow

I just got this via email:

In December, the United MEC adopted the "Fix It Now! (FIN) campaign. A major component of the FIN campaign is communications between local council representatives and line pilots.

Your voice has been heard. As a result of your input -- input gained from meetings between local council representatives and line pilots in layover hotels -- the United MEC today met in special session and received from the MEC Negotiating Committee an "Agreement in Principle" between ALPA and the Company.

What follows is an outline of contract modifications contained in the Agreement in Principle. Please keep in mind that what follows is NOT final language, and does NOT represent a formal Letter of Agreement. The MEC Negotiating Committee will be working to finalize language in the coming days. Also, the MEC Negotiating Committee will be meeting with the Company to work on implementation issues on many of the items contained in the Agreement in Principle. All items may not be implemented at the same time.

Your local council officers will be in flight operations over the next week answering your questions regarding this agreement in principle. The MEC will meet again once final language between ALPA and the Company is reached to act upon a final Letter of Agreement.

Contract Modifications Outline

Trip Construction Items:

* LCO pilots gets the same trip and duty rigs as mainline pilots, however, the look back pay system goes away.
* Duty based rest system instead of flight time based rest system.

Schedule Construction Items:

* All pilots have an 89 hours schedule cap.
* Pilots may voluntarily increase their cap from 89 hours to any value between 89 and 95 hours (in no less than 30 minute increments).
* Minimum Guarantee for line holders is increased from 65 hours to 70 hours to equal the minimum reserve guarantee.
* Trip Trade floor is changed from 50 hours to 65 hours.
* Company may offer Surplus Reduction Lines at 35 hours (˝ of minimum guarantee).
* PBS Construction floor increased from 65 hours to 75 hours.

Actual Operation Items:

* Line Guarantee for each lineholder – the pilot’s Pay Credit at the beginning of the month will be protected from being reduced by reassignments/cancellations, etc.
o The pay credit that is protected will increase and decrease with trip trading.
o If a trip or portion of a trip is cancelled the pilot will be permitted to pickup trips under 20-H or will be assigned other flying or telephone standby on each of the days the original trip was scheduled to operate. The Company must make this assignment only once during the cancellation, however, such assignment may involve all the days of the original assignment.
* The reassignment language in Section 20 is changed from 16 hours and 8 hours into a day off to 14 hours and 10 hours into a day off.
* If a lineholder falls one day below the minimum days off for operational reasons (not due to a reassignment) his schedule will not be repaired

Training Freeze Items:
All freezes for future LCO bids will now equal the freezes for the mainline.

* If a pilot currently has a freeze greater than 48 months, that freeze will be reduced to 48 months.
* The time permitted to get a pilot scheduled for training is increased to nine months from the current six months. The pay trigger associated with a new bid will remain unchanged at 62 days after the advertised effective date.

Miscellaneous Items:
·Pilots vacating their lines for OE training will be paid the line value plus three hours instead of cap plus three hours.
·Pilots will be given the option of doing some TK CBT training at home and paid at 2.8 hours per day (limit of eight hours per day)
·PC/PT required pre-study limited to 25 hours. Currently no contractual limit.
·All credit time above 95 hours will be put in the bank.
·Beginning in December of each vacation year if the company solicits, pilots may be permitted to sell some of their unassigned vacation. The amount subject to be sell back is subject to limits to reduce manpower implications. This will reduce the number of pilots that have vacation involuntarily bought back.
IAD-PEK Driven Temporary Wide Body Items:
·In order to reduce international “W” trips, reduce involuntary TDY, reduce 8-L-6 assignments, and reduce re-assignments, the following scheduling caps are temporarily increased through the October Bid month:
o777 and 400 increased from 89 to 96 hours.
·In order to permit pilots to be released from flying to attend training for their wide body bids, the following scheduling caps are temporarily increased through the October Bid month:
o767 increased from 89 to 92 hours.
·No changes to the 737 or 320 scheduling cap of 95 hours until November.
·All credit time in excess of 96 hours through October will put in the bank
·In November, all pilots will go to the voluntary Flexible Cap outlined in Schedule Construction Items above.

jsled

This is a big relief from a sh!t contract. Basically, the 737 and 320 get work rules back to match the rest of the airline, AND we get pay protection for our entire line of flying. I have never seen pay protection at this airline in my 10 years here! In exchange, you can only drop to 65 hours instead of 50 and the PBS scheduling floor moves to 75 instead of 65. Also, the company gets to increase the cap until November, then it is 89 for all a/c. It is give and take, but as good as can be expected since our contract runs through 2009.

fireman0174

Agreeing to fly 89-95 hours is a "big relief"? The $$ prostitues will just love it.

Most, if not all of the other stuff, does look like an improvement, however.

EDC757

It's a big improvement for the company because we don't have the coverage for our operation. This forces all to fly more and the " Prostitues" to fly even more. And if it is this bad now I can't wait until summer.

fireman0174

While I obviously don't know what's really going on there, on the surface it would appear to me that you had some "leverage". Hope it was used well.

jsled

The 737 and 320 have been at a 95 hour cap for years!! This will take them back to 89 in November. IT does increase the widebodies, but only until Nov.

fireman0174

I do not remember it being that high and I left in early 2003.

That's not to say I couldn't be wrong, however.

jsled

Fireman,
It was in the agreement of 2003. The "bankruptcy agreement". It turned the 300 and 320 into the "LCO" (low cost operation). 95 hour cap, NO trip or duty rigs, no minium pay per day. It sucks. You got out just in time!!