Originally Posted by
cr700
So what if I'm at a desk most of the time? I've got no problem admitting it. I'm still on the seniority list and that's what matters.
Where's the bastion of support that I used to see on here in this thread? In fact, that's why I finally started posting instead of just reading. To turn away these unwarranted incendiary attacks on Envoy. Do you want to flow or not? Well, we do need new hires. That's a fact. We are getting them like everyone else, maybe a few more than others, but we still need them. Why turn them away with baseless accusations about what YOU perceive to be the truth here.
Baseless? It is a FACT that our paychecks are wrong. It is a FACT that the union came up with a pay auditing spreadsheet because the errors were so frequent and widespread by the crew services/paycomp department.
The facts is, there is no other regional that has the type of flow that Envoy has. We are far and away at the top of regionals in terms of percentages of flowing pilots. How is that a bad thing?
And why do we have that flow? It sure as hell isn't out of the goodness of Parker or Jerry Glass's heart. The ONLY reason we had any flow at all when US Air launched the hostile takeover of AMR was because of the grievance settlements from the Letter 3 debacle and the transfer of our aircraft off the Eagle certificate. Are we supposed to be grateful to Parker that he hasn't decided to ignore those too? Oh, that's right, there are MORE TWA PILOTS returning right now that never went though indoc at AA. The real issue here is that opportunity to flow is not everything. If you really are on the seniority list, then you should understand how people hired before 9/11 were promised 5 years to flow to AA, and instead have spent a majority of their careers here, trying to raise a family on "regional" wages. All it takes is some major world event or economic downturn (which looks like it's coming) and suddenly the flow music stops again. Excuse me for trying to learn from the past, and not wanting to be caught without a chair.
Add to that the upgrade time that will be dropping rapidly very soon. The 2.5/6 is not just some baloney numbers pulled out of the air. These were calculated over a period of time by Envoy management and it's shown already that it's going to work. These are all based on projections that were created between Envoy and AAG. And that's just with the flow working as we speak. How about that fact?
Dic Wilson told us all about the intense calculation process that went into that hocus pocus. The fundamental flaw is that it assumes that we will continue to get a steady number of new hires, because "the flow is enough." It completely negates human nature, which is being shown by all the other regionals that have drastically increased their starting salaries and are filling classes, while we continually fail to meet targets. The pipeline programs are a joke, because there simply aren't the necessary number of people in flight training due to the economic realities of the career, and people have finally realized it. Wishes are not horses sir.
Oh, and while we're at it, let's remember that a few years ago, there were 3,200 pilots on our seniority list. The ones that haven't flowed left because of the poisonous atmosphere created by Parker/Glass over the destruction of our contract. Maybe, just MAYBE, if management hadn't threatened to Comair II us, all those pilots wouldn't have left, and we wouldn't need all the new hires!!!
Upgrades are about to drop rapidly. Forget about your Charlie Bucket. That's union propaganda. I'm not saying overall that the union is bad, it's just that they have their own agenda when running THEIR numbers.
Propaganda? LMAO.
As for work rules. Yes, Envoy has nearly the best in the regional industry. Maybe the reserve rules could use some tweaking, but overall I can't see what the problem is regarding complaining about the work rules in general.
Of course you can't. You don't have to live under them. You haven't been denied a trip trade or reserve swap to go to a funeral when there are 100+ pilots in your status on reserve. You haven't had your long term training arbitrarily changed by the training department to when you had a trip to Bali planned for a family wedding. The rules are now broken CONSTANTLY. It doesn't matter even if we did have the best rules, because rules mean nothing now. It's been two years since 117 passed, and somehow all the other FFD carriers have made their reserve rules compliant...except for us. Tweaking...that's laughable sir. I have friends and acquaintances that are having marital problems because they've been on reserve for several years now and the ARE NEVER HOME. They are missing their kids grow up, and you think there's no problem. That says it all about the disconnect in this company right there.
As for the schedules. The schedules are given to us by AAG and we have to make them work. It's really a lack of mid day flying that contributes to many of the lines built in the current fashion. It's just where we are right now. They may not be perfect, but seriously, are they really that bad? It's a fact that every month someone will post that the schedules are the worst they've ever seen. Give me a break. As far as the non commutable ends of the trip, you have company paid hotels! What more do you want? Room service delivered to your room on the company dime?
First, you fail to mention the "metrics" imposed by Envoy management on the scheduling process. Second, the fact that CDO's back in the bids would greatly enhance productivity, and since we only get 6 PVD's per year again, there's no reason why Dic shouldn't agree to it, except for spite. Third, again since you don't have to live under it, it's no wonder you don't understand. There haven't been a mix of trips in YEARS now. As an F/O, for several years I did 85-90 hour two day trips, and picked up 1-2 OT trips per month. I was literally home every day! There was always a mix of 1-2-3-4 day trips. Now, it's all unproductive 4 day trips, uncommutable, with two days off in between. I never thought I'd see senior pilots bid reserve just for the line value of 75 hours and better QOL!!! The fact of the matter is that no one wants their job to be their entire life, but especially for commuters, that's what it is turning into. You think they should be grateful you're paying for hotel rooms, but you forget that pilot only had enough time at home to do laundry, pay bills, re-pack their lunch box, and try to get some sleep before their commute flight back to work. That's not a life, that's living to work. We are not automatons, we are people. Management has clearly forgotten that, but more importantly, doesn't care about the morale and welfare of their employees.
I would stress again......patience. It's taking some time for the overall company plan to come together but Envoy is a major player and is already a great regional with a robust flow, but as things continue to improve, will be THE premier regional. This, along with the flow is what will bring new hires to our doors.
Things are not getting better sir. Many thought management would stop their punitive campaign once the TA was signed, but the opposite has been true. Despite our excellent performance numbers last year, we are still shrinking in terms of aircraft and block hours. Management continues to keep us in the dark, and most believe it is intentional to hide the inevitably of what's coming; a slow drawdown to PSA/PDT levels for yet another round of whipsaw-forced concessions for flow. The morale of the front line employees has been destroyed, and empty promises of some vague future improvement simply won't work anymore.