JUNIOR MANNING AND CREATIVE REASSIGNMENTS
The union has been especially busy this week with calls from pilots who face junior manning or creative reassignments beyond their original pairing. Since we anticipate the strong possibility of continued questionable practices by Crew Scheduling, we are working on an updated version of the popular “Summer of Your Dreams” document that many of our pilots found helpful last year. Look for that in the coming weeks. Until then, please follow these MEC guidelines:
·******** If you are unavailable, you are unavailable. The discussion ends there. The only person you need to justify your reasoning to is your Chief Pilot; not Scheduling, not the gate agent, not anyone else in your crew. There are many reasons to be unavailable and only you can make that determination.
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·******** Regardless of whether you are a Lineholder or a Reserve pilot, you are under no obligation to respond to Scheduling while on a rest period. They can leave as many voice messages as they like, but the FAA interpretation is clear; during a rest period a crewmember is “free from all restraint by the certificate holder.”
·******** It is not your job to notify other crew members of reassignments or to tell them to contact Crew Scheduling. Also, you have no responsibility or authority to accept changes for other crewmembers.
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·******** The only people who can junior man you are those who work in the Flight Ops chain of command. You are under no obligation to converse with gate agents or ramp tower or to monitor ACARS for junior manning assignments.
·******** Scheduling can make as many changes to your schedule as they like, but your obligations are as follows:
·******** A Lineholder’s only obligation to check his schedule is when he checks in for a pairing, which can be done as early as 36 hours prior to pairing origination, and again when he E-signs after his report time.
·******** In addition to the Lineholder’s obligations above, a Reserve pilot must also check his schedule after 1500LBT prior to a reserve day and after his official block in time plus 15 minutes (30 for customs, zero for deadhead.)
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·******** In order to junior man them, Scheduling will sometimes put a trip on a pilot's schedule and “notify” them that they need to check in for it. If you call them to “correct” their error, you will be junior manned. Management has stated that Crew Scheduling doesn’t need your help when they make mistakes and if you contact them, then you’re on the hook for anything the CBA will allow.
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·******** Use good judgment when considering making “deals” with Scheduling. We seldom see reports that the deals work out for the pilot’s benefit, and more importantly, when you make a deal, you are operating outside the protections of our contract. If (and usually when) things go south, you will find it impossible for the union to enforce the deal you made.