Originally Posted by
Albief15
My concern is that as a lot of people take a long hard look at the numbers, we'll be short in some seats and we'll be inversing a fair number of folks. The union disagrees. The company has said "no problem--we'll limit that to 30 days" which is a start. It also means if conditions are as brutal as I think they could be (I'm thinking riding the bus to Canton 3 days a week!) or struggling against a strong euro in France, they will have to inverse MORE Of us to cover the vacancies as they move up the list every month.
I don't see how you figure MORE folks will get inversed over time. The STV only applies to 18 months out of the first two years. The first vacancy bid will cover that whole time period. If this is as bad of a deal as you say, and no one bids it after that, the company can no longer use the STV option. Unless they say they are closing down the FDA in which case they would need fewer pilots. I know they could open a "new" FDA with new pilots, but do you really think the company's goal is to man these FDA's with STV's?
Think about this. When the company needed more pilots to go to Anchorage last time, they already had the ability to inverse people out of Memphis to fill those spots as Temporary Vacancies. They hired off the street instead (purple nuggets). The STV idea came from the union, not the company. The company has shown no propensity to use this particular option in the past. They may have to do it this time, but I think, based on past evidence, it is hard to argue they want to. Fred wants to fill those FDA spots with permanent FDA members. STV's are not as efficient. They cost more. They just cause more problems.
Are STV's a give back? You can make a strong argument that they are, but they are not unprecedented. What would be unprecedented would be the company using them in the wholesale manner that many seem to imagine happening. I know that you personally have said there are bigger problems than the STV's, but many seem stuck on this issue when it seems to me that a realistic viewing of past events shows that this issue may not be the "showstopper" some have made it out to be.
Just my 2 cents