Originally Posted by
TonyC
Perhaps you could enlighten us by describing what goes on during build week. What was your schedule like? What time did you begin each day, and what time did you end? Where did you physically work? How much time was on ALPA property, and how much on FedEx property? Where did you eat? Who paid your trip removal? Who paid for your meals? Where did commuters stay? Who paid?
Were you ever able to draw a line in the sand on any issue to the point of delaying the publishing of a bid period package, or was the deadline always the deadline? Were you ever able to convince The Company to change a pairing to a less onerous schedule if it was going to cost The Company more money, or were the only solutions acceptable those which cost the same or less? How many disputed pairing disputes were decided by the final arbitrator in our favor?
Apart from the scheduling subject matter expertise, what experience did you gain on the PSIT which you believe would make you a better CBA negotiator?
If the goings on of the PSIT are so secretive that nobody has a clue what goes on there, isn't that a problem? Well, provide the solution. Tell us all about it.
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I've often wondered when someone doing ALPA work is being paid with our dues money - is he "volunteering"? My definition of "volunteering" means you're working without compensation. As in pro bono. If someone on the SIG is being paid with our union dues; brother, he ain't volunteering. He's being paid to do a job. And that's fine by me, just don't claim you're "volunteering" your time. But if being paid by the union instead of the company is considered volunteering, where do I sign up? Heck, I'll "volunteer" until I'm 80 years old. Maybe we can all say we are volunteering our time to Fedex Copration because we have nothing better to do. We aren't compensated employees, we're volunteers!
I've also wondered about the PSIT "volunteers". Those volunteers are paid 12 hours per month (or so I'm told from a reliable source). That's $3,600 per month to make the same dang lines every month (for a wide body captain anyways). That's our dues money being spent on a "volunteer". Will they not work for only 6 hours per month? Can we find "volunteers" willing to do that work for only 6 hours of pay? And where is the posting from our union for PSIT members? Oh yes, there isn't one. It's the good 'ol boy system of "volunteerism".
So my hat's off to the guys and gals that actually work on our behalf without pay. Too bad the union doesn't have a monthly report showing who's being paid with our dues money and how much they are being paid to "volunteer". Also a report of who's actually volunteering so we can collectively say "thank you" for working pro bono.