Future Vacancy Bids
January 25, 2013
Dear Fellow Pilots:
As you are likely aware by now, the company has issued System Bid 14-02 for the Continental Pilots. This System Bid deserves some mention.
The JCBA Section 8, Staffing, specifies that bid awards for United Airlines be Vacancy Bids, very much like the current system under which the United Pilots are familiar. However, the Joint Implementation Team (JIT) was unable to reach agreement on early implementation of the JCBA Section 8 Vacancy bids for the Continental side of the operation. As such, the company utilized the Continental System Bid while transitioning. This should be the last CAL System Bid as all future bids should be fully implemented under the United Pilot Agreement (UPA) Section 8-C Vacancy Bidding provisions. There is a large amount of UPA “soft time” (e.g., trip and duty rigs, M5D, training and vacation credit increases) being introduced into the CAL operation between now and September, creating an understaffing situation on the CAL side. The Company felt that it needed to put a bid out now in order to get pilots trained and in place for the big M5D credit increase slated for September. The number of vacancies announced under the CAL System Bid, while appearing large, also includes 270 of those previously unfilled vacancies from the August 2012 award – they are not in addition to the August 2012 bid.
The CAL language requires System Bids twice a year, the last being in August 2012. The current bid was due in December 2012. As late as last week, the CAL Bid specified a new CAL 757/767 base in LAX and a new CAL 737 base in SFO. Through the efforts of the United MEC, we were able to convince the company of the ramifications of such a bid ahead of an Integrated Seniority List (ISL) in a few months. We reminded the company that a CAL 757/767 in LAX was a violation of the TPA and gave notice of a TPA dispute. A CAL 737 base in SFO, while permitted in the TPA extension, would have had an emotional impact on the United Pilots. The company has complied with the terms of the TPA and has codified the cancellation of any outstanding bids upon ISL without training class dates. The CAL Pilots currently bid for training dates so this will necessitate that the senior pilots actually bid for training lest they lose those bids to pilots junior to them.
Coinciding with the CAL bids will be an announcement of recalls for the United furloughees. While we hoped the number of initial recalls would be larger, it is another important step towards returning all our furloughees to the United property. In the interim, we encourage United furloughees to accept pilot positions at Continental to curtail the filling of vacancies with new hires. We are also striving to increase training at the Denver Training Center to capacity.
The first Vacancy Bid after ISL will be system-wide and open to all United Pilots. The United MEC wants an equitable transition and implementation so that there is no inverse disparity after ISL. This is for the benefit of all Pilots as we look to the future of operating as one Airline under one Contract and one Seniority List.
We are United,
Captain Jay Heppner
Chairman, United Master Executive Council