APC225

"Last week, the Grievance Committee informed you of the Company's violation of our contract in regards to the deadline for the CBT associated with the Pilot Merger Guide the Company sent out to the pilot group. In a terse reply to our request that this issue be properly addressed, Flight Operations management refused to acknowledge the controlling language in the CBA. They have decreed that there is no contractual restriction and they can set the due date whenever they want. It appears, yet again, that management is ignoring the fact we even have a contract before they make their plans. Then, when we call them on it, they attempt to “martinize” contractual language in order to fix their mistake. The language from the contract is clear:

Section 11, Part 1.5. - “Distributed Training” means training designed to be accomplished at home, at Base learning centers, or similar non-centralized locations using printed materials, computer based training (CBT), or other similar methods.

and

Section 11, Part 3.F. - A pilot will be notified electronically (CCS) at least twenty-one (21) days prior to the first day of the first month in which he is eligible to be scheduled for a CQP event, and will be notified electronically (CCS) at least fifteen (15) days prior to the first day of the month in which he becomes eligible for self-scheduled CQP training or self-directed Distributed Training. Notification will be repeated if a pilot enters his grace month without having accomplished the event.

Flight Operations management claims that since there is no "grace" month like normal annual training, this is not Distributed Training and therefore the contractual provisions don't apply. There is a clear difference between self-scheduled CQP training such as normal annual CBT training (ASR and GSR) which has a grace month, and self-directed Distributed Training which has nothing to do with annual CQP training. The contract is clear. The CBT associated with the Pilot Merger Guide cannot have a due date earlier than Oct. 31.

It is also important to note, there is no safety or regulatory reason to force pilots to rush this training. To the contrary, rushing these types of things is generally considered the antithesis to safety. The Sept. 23 deadline is not an FAA deadline. It is an artificially imposed one forced on the pilot group by management. We are left to ponder if this is being done to show the FAA progress in the single operating certificate (SOC) process. Remember, management is very incentivized toward getting SOC accomplished. There are jobs, promotions and big bonuses tied to getting it done on schedule. This is nothing but a blatant attempt by the Company to force yet another contractual violation down our throats. In any investigation of a crime, the police will tell you it's simple: follow the money. They are, in essence, bastardizing our contractual language in order to line their own pockets.

We have tried to resolve this issue with management. We discussed with them possible solutions to their violation of the contract, but the best they would offer was to not do it again. That is simply not good enough. Our CBA must mean something.

Pilots are always free to complete their training early; however, contractually, the due date for this training is Oct. 31."