Originally Posted by
Skyvector
There's always more to the story...but good luck getting that through to some of this crowd. I'm sitting on 4 sick calls myself. The 5th fell off in November. Never heard a peep from anyone about it.
I have also had 4-5 sick calls in a rolling 12 month period, and haven't heard anything about it. However, other individuals (that may or may not be on the company's radar, justly or unjustly) have had issues.
The real problem here is that our sick time is part of our CBA, and part of our compensation package. EVERYTHING that is part of the CBA has a dollar value, and thus was negotiated. The company agreed to give us this sick time as part of our compensation, at a certain rate, and even agreed to let us cash it out if our long term sick reaches a certain value. The fact that they now want to deny us using that sick time is quite frankly a contract violation and an attempted pay cut. Not to mention of course all the studies that show it is far better for corporations to allow sick employees to go home, recuperate faster, and not get fellow employees sick. The PTO system we had for a while was great, because if treated sick and vacation time as the same bank, which is really how it should be. And finally, there is the issue of safety. Safety is supposed to be our number one concern, but the company is pushing pilots to fly sick. Are YOU at the top of your game while hacking, sniffling, your sinuses clogged, and trying to clear your ears? What if you're stressed about personal issues and not concentrating on the task at hand? It goes all the way back to the IMSAFE acronym we learned as private pilots.
Just like their online love affair with Spanier. Neal used one of his many screen names on Eagle Lounge to convince everyone he's being persecuted for having a sinus infection and picking up pizza. Unfortunately the real story is much worse.
If anyone here at Envoy has ever shared a status with Neal, DFW FO or DFW CA then I guarantee you have had to work extra because of him. His history of not working goes back years, and as soon as he was able to punch out on SA it got worse. Much worse. Sinus infection and pizza? Try punching out on FMLA and getting caught playing golf. And working a side business. All while your fellow pilots have to cover the flying you were supposed to be doing. And then when you are caught-twice-you lie about it. Twice.
I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that FMLA was unpaid leave. Am I wrong? If he isn't getting paid (losing money from his guarantee) for those FMLA days, then why the hell should the company care what he does on those days? Let alone the fact that leave is protected by Federal law!!! The "flying that he was supposed to be doing" that was covered by other pilots is NO DIFFERENT than a sick call being normally covered by a reserve; it's how our CBA dictates everyone should be paid, and the company agreed to it, so please spare us the belly-aching on that fact. You guys like to repeat these allegations of wrongdoing against Neal, but I have yet to see any evidence. Talk is cheap.