This came from Alpa, envoy's Union.
7.1.16 MEC NewsBlast
MEC Update
FO Retention Bonus Program Expanded to include more pilots
Eligible First Officers received a long awaited and well deserved extra paycheck this month because of the FO retention bonus. The next bonus eligibility window runs from June 1, 2016 through August 31, 2016. It is important to note that an FO who is eligible for the retention bonus also be employed on the day of payment, which is the 25th of the month following the described 90 period, effectively making each period almost 120 days.
In addition, MEC Chairman Sam Pool and Envoy Vice-President of Flight Ric Wilson signed a deal this week allowing those FOs hired earlier in the year who received a sign-on bonus of less than $15,000 will be given a true-up bringing their ultimate sign-on bonus up to the currently offered $15,000. The agreement also extends the retention bonus to FOs hired prior to June 30, 2016 and who have already commenced training. [The new agreement will be available on our website shortly.]
We would like to acknowledge the mutual benefit that will result from extending this program to the FOs hired since the original announcement through June 30th. The Company’s acknowledgement of our outstanding crews is not unappreciated.
Our pilots deserve a robust and competitive compensation package, one that further enhances the value of an Envoy career and brings our economics in line with industry peers. Our new pilots hired before June 30th will make nearly $50,000 at Envoy their first year. This first year pay makes the regional pilot career attractive (and is competitive with the industry) however, that same pilot will take a substantial pay cut their second year due to the loss of the $15,000 signing bonus. Further, pilots are hired or who commence training after June 30th will not receive retention payments. It is an understatement to say that reducing a loyal employee’s pay after a year of dedicated service is not an ideal model of compensation for the long-term.
Prospective pilot candidates are speaking loudly with their actions during the recruitment process. Envoy and other regional carriers are having a difficult time with recruitment because there are simply better options out there in a new hire’s eyes. The MEC continues to implore management to give these pilots a reason to come here by offering long term, durable improvements to our Collective Bargaining Agreement. These improvements must be offered to all of our hard working pilots. The MEC keeps vying for these necessary changes, and continues to impress on our management team that immediate action is needed to turn the staffing tides here. Our working culture must improve and the Band-Aid improvements must grow rapidly into a durable model – offering pilots steady pay that can sustain a family – in order to solidify Envoy as an industry leader.
It worked for Endeavor, and it will work here.
If Envoy were to combine industry leading pay with our industry leading flow-through, American Airlines will have a guaranteed source of pilots to staff their 175s, who will move through the ranks quickly at Envoy, upgrade, and flow over. We think creating a future where AA can ensure it never has to worry about staffing its largest regional is a sound investment.
DFW Family Awareness Event July 13, 2016
The Envoy SPC Will be hosting a family awareness event for the DFW pilots and their families on July 13, 2016 at Dave and Buster’s in Euless. Join your fellow crews and union leadership for dinner, discussion, and games! A buffet meal will be served and game cards will be handed out for each attendee’s use!
Please RSVP here as soon as possible! We hope to see you there!
Summer Flying
“A failure to plan on your part does NOT constitute an emergency on my part”.
This summer at Envoy, we are finding out, unfortunately, that AAG’s failure to plan in fact does constitute an emergency for us. Junior man events, unscheduled changes to our trips, extensions, or a combination of all these things are causing havoc on our personal/family lives, our health and our overall well-being.
AAG has counted on Envoy to “pick up the pieces” of their regional flying. July is now here and it has been announced to be critical coverage for all bases, equipment, and seats. We anticipate that crew scheduling will push the bounds of the CBA to maintain the schedule. If you have questions about the contractual legality of an assignment speak to your status representative or a member of our Contract Compliance committee. The summer schedules will provide lots of chances for additional flying, and significant extra income. With that said, we would like to remind all of our pilots to pay attention to their health, family life, and overall well being. Do not let the constantly shifting schedules, re-assignments or pressure to move metal at unreasonable rates effect your judgment or your commitment to doing the job right and doing it safely. Unfortunately, the possibility of a personal, family or career tragedy is always a reality. Each day we have to assess our fitness in order to protect our careers, ourselves and our families so that we can avoid being boxed into an embarrassment, or worse, a headline.
Alcohol & Excessive Celebration
Every year we send cautionary messages about drinking and holiday celebrations. The upcoming national holiday historically brings an increase in alcohol-related issues.
As July 4th approaches it is worthwhile to remember that motor vehicle actions, especially including those that involve alcohol, can have serious consequences for your aviation career. Item 18v of FAA Form 8500-8, Application for Airman Medical Certificate, requires reporting of any conviction or administrative action that results in denial, suspension, cancellation, or revocation of driving privileges or which results in attendance at an education or rehabilitation program. Note, that for purposes of the medical application, this "motor vehicle action" does not have to be related to the use of alcohol or drugs. In addition to reporting required by the medical application, all convictions and administrative actions due to alcohol/drug related motor vehicle actions must be separately reported to the FAA Security Division within 60 days pursuant to FAR 61.15.
Just as you practice engine failure procedures, it is helpful to think through, and design in advance a plan of action should you or another crew-member encounter a situation where it is apparent that excessive celebrating has occurred. First, recognize and acknowledge the situation. Next, privately share the knowledge with the affected crewmember. If someone has suggested that you have celebrated excessively, take that judgment seriously. No matter who is in question, enact the following, as appropriate:
• Remove an affected crewmember from any aviation-specific duties. Even if you must act on the affected one's behalf, utilize all available resources to NOT be near the airport. If you need assistance, please discretely reach out to others. Do not go near the airport, even to Deadhead. In the past, a crewmember removed himself from duty for the above causes and then deadheaded from outstation only to be pinched while traveling home in uniform through the domicile.
• Don't allow an impaired crewmember to put on a uniform, wear an ID, or otherwise be identified as an aviation professional. Period.
• Strongly encourage the crewmember to contact HIMS and/or get professional help. The above suggestions may seem extreme, but you must understand that these days everyone is looking to be a hero: From the passerby who reports excessive off-duty celebrations, to the arresting authorities, to the news reporters who are looking to enhance their resumes with bylines of sordid tales splashed across their media. Airline pilots caught in the act always make headlines, especially during the busy Summer Travel Season. Neither we, nor management, wants to see that.
Remember, ALPA has a robust and very effective Human Intervention and Motivation Study ("HIMS") program. If you would like to obtain contact information for an ALPA HIMS representative, please contact the MEC office. Always maintain your consummate professionalism and if you need help, it is available, but you must seek it. We are your Union and we will help you access a confidential evaluation and any treatment that is needed. Alcohol use will not resolve any of the problems we face or lessen the pressures on your career. Conversely, alcohol abuse or dependence will increase the difficulties you face and increase the pressures on your career.
First and foremost, don't overdo it... but should it happen, please lose the pay, spend the money, and take the actions required to ensure that an innocent mistake is not compounded into a career ending event.
Happy July 4th, we hope those that are home can enjoy it safely with family and friends, and those at work do so with a fun crew in a responsible manner.
July Critical Coverage
The Company has announced that all seats, equipment, and bases will be critical coverage for the month of July. Please refer to the OTLOA if you plan on picking up the 200% open time.
Please remember to send an RF or an email to your pay-comp auditor, if you have OT cancelled. The OT LOA requires you notify pay-comp by the 20th of the subsequent month.
Failure to do this may result in a delay of your premium payout. Don’t forget!
Contract Compliance Corner - Out of Albany, NY Hotel!
Effective immediately, we are OUT of the Best Western. A special thank you to the Contract Compliance Committee Chairman Mike Froscher, Hotel Committee Chairman Bruce MacDonald, Chairman Pool and the dozens of pilots who provided picture evidence and crew cares. This flood of pilot evidence forced the Company’s hand. We ask that you KEEP doing this for everything you don’t like. [We also ask for your feedback for hotels you do like!]
Our new hotel, starting Saturday July 2, 2016, will be the Hilton. Ultimately, we will likely transition to one of our Hotel Committee’s approved hotels – the actual location has yet to be decided, but are very pleased our input will be utilized in picking a replacement in Albany.
Pilot opinion matters, especially when it is deafening. Get involved, take pictures, and actively participate in making positive changes to your quality of life. The jobs of your ALPA volunteers are made so much easier by your participation. This goes for more than just hotels.
Our most valuable Contract Compliance members are each and every one of our crews.
Keep taking pictures and sending them to
[email protected], keep doing crew cares, and remember the provisions provided for in the CBA.
Home Study For Recurrent Training
We would like to remind pilots that when attending recurrent, all the items listed on the home study page for are required to be completed. The CBT is not the only item the Company has the ability to track. When a pilot signs the home study pay credit form they are stating that they have viewed all the required material, so please ensure you are completing all of the home study material that you are signing for.
If you have recently attended recurrent training and inadvertently missed something it would be wise to go back and review all the material again to ensure everything was completed.
LTFO Update
By: Zach Blackburn
ENY MEC Vice-Chairman
I am working as hard as possible to rework the LTFO spreadsheet that I’ve spent so many hours compiling. At the moment, ALPA National is waiting for the file I’m working on to be transmitted to them so it can be merged with the main list of affected pilots. A few weeks ago, the MEC voted to change the methodology by which a harmed pilot was calculated, and each LTFO pilot is now being evaluated on a month-by-month basis, rather than excluded entirely for just one LTFO flight over the 10-month period. We initially thought this was going to be a relatively easy task, however several issues have arisen.
First, each pilot who was assigned LTFO flying at any time during the period is being evaluated. The Company was inconsistent with their coding of LT time, so we have to look at individual pay sheets to look for anomalies, such as a RSV pilot who has BO or TT coded flying on their schedule, or another pilot who somehow flew OT during times that OT was blocked. This was time consuming the first time through, and now we have added more pilots whose monthly schedules we have to go through.
Second, we have pay sheet data from both NA (Executive) and MQ sides. Complications arise when we need to look at Executive pilots as they transitioned to the MQ side during the timeframe. I've noticed errors in our data calculation where the NA paysheets were used or when the MQ paysheet was supposed to be used. These errors must be manually corrected. We originally were tasked with weeding out ANY AND ALL pilots who had LT flying in their schedules, but while I was working on this last week I noticed that one of these NA-->MQ pilots was showing up as “clear” but upon a further audit he did indeed have LT flying on his pay sheet.
In short, anybody showing a low amount of credit hours (0-5) on reserve is flagged for review and has to be looked at manually for each month.
This ends up being about 65 pilots per month X 10 months = 650 manual processes just for this correction. Remember that hundreds of other pilots already had this process done for them during the initial audits to determine who was harmed and who was not.
I understand the frustration and the desire for resolution and expediency. Many on your MEC, including myself, were harmed for all 10-months and want this paid out ASAP. We are not intentionally stalling or trying to prevent anyone from getting their money. I will continue to work on this as much as possible this week to cull the list and get it merged with the master “affected pilots list”. We hope to have that final list next week pending a quick response from the very patient folks over at ALPA Economic and Financial Analysis. After that, the list will be distributed to you for review.
Thank you for your continued patience.
Flow-Through
The previous flow-through class on June 21, 2016 had 13 Envoy flows, all of which went to the LUS side. Those pilots were awarded 3 PHL/FO/320/D, and all the rest on PHL/FO/190/D.
We are expecting 13 flows to be awarded a class date for July. We have also been told to expect the flow numbers to increase later in the year, but are unlikely to reach 30 a month due to expected AAG capacity reductions in the fall. Early indications are that there is likely to be minimal flow (if any) in December.
There is currently no update available from American on their progress through the recall list, but we will transmit that information if we are able to obtain it.
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