Originally Posted by
busdriver12
I wonder what stops them now from doing that? Unless they deleted language that limited the number of VTO's, not sure what would be different after the TA than before it, at least as far as stopping them from making more VTO's. In fact, what stops them from making 100% of the bid pack secondary lines, now or after the TA.
I ask because I'm too tired to look all this up, and someone here probably knows this off the top of their head.
What stops them from doing any change at them moment in ANY section is status quo during section 6 negotiations. The second thing that stops them is historical practice.
I posted in another thread and I will repeat the point here. Every time you see changed language, even if innocuous or minor, it's there for a reason. Take this example. Right now, CBA language permits the company to charge us for the deviation ticketing costs. They don't though. TA language is an "improvement" in that this is no longer unlimited, but they can only charge max of $25 and it can only happen after second change.
Wow, that seems better, an improvement for the pilots, but it isn't! Look behind the curtain. Historical practice shows they don't charge a dime. They can't change that during section 6. If the language doesn't change in the TA, they are still tied by historical practice and can't do it. But, they change the language to improve it for us, and now, they are no longer held to historical practice because there is new negotiated language to take precedence. The company fully intends to start charging us for deviation ticket costs, but they can't do it without new language. This change, although a win on the face of it, is really a give back! Sneaky isn't it?
This all has roots in English common law which we follow in the US. Think of owning a piece of land--it's yours to do with as you will. But, let your neighbor walk across it over the course of time and now you have an easement and you lose the right to fence off the pathway. This is why historical practice is important in grievances although we think we have plain language. But, once the plain language is changed, as long as the company doesn't allow its "right" to lapse, they now can enforce the new language. That's why seemingly small changes can be very important. That's also why we do a horrible job as a union grieving things because we should have a thousand grievances out there. When we permit the company to interpret things their own way, against language we think is plain....if we don't grieve it, it now becomes accepted practice in many cases.