Originally Posted by
scrupulous
Some do.
Now we are comparing ourselves to K4, ATI, Omni vs our current negotiators say we can only be compared to UPS/FedEx who doesn't have it at all.
True.
If we get caught again doing another work action, we might have to give something up to pay the court ordered fines like the other carriers before us. Luckily, we didn't get hit with that the last time. Just thought I would mention that since a number of guys are saying "wild cat strike".
Atlas has been trying to get rid of Gateway since the first ask (six months later) by us under ALPA to fix some CBA parts. The response by the company in every case on interpretations and understandings of the CBA was "we could do that if you agree to drop Gateway". Conversation usually ended right then unless we had some other leverage handy.
Most commuting guys tend to do full block lines because of this. I like shorter periods, but full block saves travel days.
You don't have to use gateway and jumpseat right into work. Could save some time. I remember the Polar MEC didn't care about gateway during that past merger since they had to jumpseat. I don't think they would say that now though.
I haven't seen a UPS or FedEx line in some time although I see plenty of UPS/FedEx jumpseaters on us.. I imagine they have to keep a crash pad or hotel and lose days jumpseating in and out for those also. What do they have for days off now?
Most guys at FedEx jumpseat in the night of their reserve starting or jumpseat in for their line starting. I can drive so it's easier. Yes you need a crashpad, but Memphis is readily available and will be assigned to you. My crashpad is $250 a month. For me I pay less getting to and from work plus crashpad than imputed income would've been getting to ANC.
Gateway is a nice benefit for the first few years, but things are different... The way Atlas schedules moving to an Atlas base will keep you home an extra day or two a month but that's it. The Reserves are immediately used and they don't send you back to base at all in most cases. You usually have to get to your base for the first trip and that can be tricky for several of the junior bases like ANC, CVG, and HSV.
At FedEx the trips on most of the airplanes come and go from MEM OR they're Double Commercial Deadheads. The reserves are barely used. So if you move to MEM you hardly work... There's a much larger incentive to live in base. If you commute you're best on the 777 which is being given to new hires. They have 12 day trips where the worst ones have you jumpseat in to operate out and operate back in to jumpseat out. There are contractual protections for this. After a year or two you can make $220k as an FO and never commute. You just bid a double dead head every month and business class to work to Europe and then business class home back from Asia. No crashpad required...
So after a few years you either move to MEM and bid 757 Captain where you make $250-$300K a year or you bid 777 FO and bid double commercial deadheads to avoid the commutes and crash pads. For the first two years Gateway is an amazing benefit though and I greatly appreciated it while I was based in ANC at Atlas.
Overall, I'd rather have FedEx's system hands down BUT that'd require a complete paradigm shift to Atlas as a whole. I effectively traded Gateway for FedEx's contract...