Originally Posted by Scoop

Guys,


We have a lot of very astute analysis of the NN going on here and as I read through the thread I am picking up on a few potential troubling misconceptions and or errors in logic:

Reserve Issues only affect a few Pilots, most who choose to be junior in category.


FALSE - Having the ability of reserves to fly more will result in less open time, less green-slip opportunity, slow movement to the left seat, slow advancement to bigger equipment.


Guys are saying, "I have been on reserve for years and never fly to ALV and never get more than 3or 4 short-calls – so the negative effects of this will be minimal."


FALSE – Do not make the huge mistake of extrapolating your last few years of experience (while DAL was almost always been over manned and shrinking) onto these new proposed work rules. Look forward to when the company tries to run us as lean as possible, we are possibly hiring, and we are always short pilots. There is a reason the company wants these efficiencies – they plan on using them.


Good times are around the corner as retirements kick in and we all advance.


IRRELEVANT – While I hope this is true it should not cloud our judgment. This will happen no matter what and has no place in this discussion. Also, lets not do anything to minimize and reduce this potential rapid advancement.



Finally – and most important. We as all Pilot groups, are at a severe negotiating disadvantage. Management is negotiating this contract with very specific future plans in mind. It is essentially putting in place the work-rules it intends to exploit in the future. We mostly, look at recent experience and say “I never hit ALV on reserve so this will not affect me. Wrong, wrong, wrong, as some on this board have said – Look at the work-rules as protection from a worst case scenario.

Management is negotiating these work-rules for a specific scenario that they intend to capitalize on. Might be a generic merger, or a merger with a specific airline, it doesn’t matter. All I can say is that when you make your decision on our next contract plan on operating within a continual worst case scenario for years to come because management has a plan for the airline. Whether worst case means no Green-slips or open time for line-holders or working your A$$ off on reserve, you can count on it. The plan obviously involves using these work-rules to get the most out of our Pilot group for years.


Scoop