Originally Posted by iFlyer

Delta pilots already have holiday pay - it's called a Greenslip.

Now before you all jump on me, just keep in mind that there are always unintended consequences to any action, or reaction. Just look at the Reserve Manning coverage for every month and you will notice that since we recently won the ability to move our x-days off, combined with the fact that holidays and weekends pay the same as normal days you will notice that all weekends and holidays invariably shift to minimum manning, while becoming over-staffed the next Mon-Thurs. THAT'S our contract at work: people bid what they want/can hold, and then swap/drop/shift days and trips to get closer to the ideal line they seek, all within the confines of the PBS and contract rules. Very flexible. Flexibility is valuable to us pilots. Essential, in fact, to a long career (...and to airpower...)

All of this generates a huge greenslip swell as the Company prefers min-staffing models to control cost, albeit at a slight risk premium. This Greenslip swell is rife with inefficiencies that many pilots can surf, at huge payoffs, depending on how much time you wish to spend tweaking the system. Or gives you the flexibility to enjoy your time off.

Offer holiday pay and this changes the entire manning system. And probably not for the better. This solves huge problems for the Company and makes us much more efficient. For less pay. Be careful of what you ask for, as sometimes we need to protect ourselves from ourselves.

This is another of those second- and third- order costs that we don't readily recognize that Management might be all to happy to jump on. Don't fall for the easy fodder. When someone offers you something for free, beware - they might just be after your wallet!