Originally Posted by
slowplay
At the MEC meeting the negotiating committee put up a bunch of slides on our sick leave use and its change over time. I'm working from notes, so I apologize for any errors. Since 2012 sick leave usage is up 30%. The top 20% of sick leave users that don't go on disability use 50% of our sick leave. 5% of our pilots use more than 40 days per year and never go TD or LTD.
They also addressed that demographically our aging pilot group should only use about 1% more, not 30% more. There has been a pilot behavior change. UAL and AMR's sick leave has decreased (no data provided) but both those properties have substantially more punitive sick leave provisions than we do, beginning with only 60 hours of accrual.
They said because of increased costs this is one of management's top priorities.
I hope one of the notepads covers this, as sick leave was just a few slides in a big deck.
Thanks for reporting what you saw from the NC/MEC. It's insightful for all of us that were out flying, or out sick.
As to the data the union had about sick leave, it supposedly matches what the company was saying at the LCA meeting. To me, the Counion (company + union) are telling us as a group we are in the wrong and we must make a remedy in this contract with a bloody red Section 14.
The data, isn't convincing to me, from either source, because it has a tremendous amount of "you got to trust us on this..." And that shouldn't fly.
Now my understanding talking to someone from that vaunted 4th floor is that the company is angry about a sub group cashing out (abusing) their sick leave in a rather blatant and glorious way to any objective person but to the company's frustration it is all verified with a Doctor. So they want to get around that.
And in doing so, they want to screw us all. People are going to start flying sick. Things are going to happen. What was that story about the DALPA vs Company meeting where the company pilot said "I expect them to fly sick." Looks like we're going to do just that.
I'd prefer DALPA to just reply: Kiss off. Pilots get sick, leave them alone because you and the FAA and the NTSB will hang them out to dry if something happens while flying sick.
From the looks of it the Counion is just going to hit us with this for no gain. Because there is no way 8633 - PS is a result of bargaining credits from Section 14. So why is NC doing this?
Again, thanks for posting what you saw.