Since our leadership is unable to come up with any ideas, and only knows how to get pilots to quit, here are some ideas.
Work rules. Any rules.
1. Our two days off must be consecutive. Cannot give us Monday and Friday off, and work the other 5 days. It has to be two days in a row.
2. A comp day off for every 10 days TDY,
3. Two comp days off for every day off that falls on a TDY. If my day off is in a hotel room, thats not a day off.
4. No schedule changes without 7 days notice.
5. No pay cap supporting TDY or other urgent missions like hurricane support. This is allowable under law somehwhere, CBP just doesnt choose to do it.
5.5 2 hours comp time off for every $250 in money withheld due to pay cap per pay period.
6. 8 hours comp time off for every 40 hours worked between 2000-0600. If Im working a week of graveyard shift, give us a day to recoup.
7. An overtime day/6th day is paid at 1.5 and not subject to pay cap. LEAP should be used for unforeseen long days. An extra day scheduled in advance should be avoided and cost CBP.
8. Sick Leave can be sold back at 100% upon retirement. Stop encouraging people to call in sick. No more use it or lose it. The current retirement credit is worthless.
9. 1 hour of comp time earned per day for any TDY days over 10 days. A single TDY trip. A 30 day TDY would earn 20 hours comp time.
10. .5 hours comp time for each unscheduled hour worked beyond 12 hours. An unscheduled 14 hour day would earn us 1 hour of comp time.
11. Hire Mission Support people to do MISSION SUPPORT. Stop using pilots to do non LE or pilot duties. Why is a pilot doing branch vehicle reports, or radio comms, or cell phones. At least 5 MSS at each Branch, 2 at each Unit and no less then one MSS for every 12 Agents. No more 5 MSS trying to take care of 100 agents spread out over numerous units.
12. Allow 1 telework day per pay period/2 weeks. Why can Mission Support telework but we cannot. Thats 1 day every two weeks to do our timecards, travel claims, online training, or our collateral duty.
13. Have a national policy of some sort. Tired of each DAO having their own interpretation on how they can best make life miserable for their pilots.
14. if you care going to make someone take a G ride on a TDY, let them take it home for peats sake. Not drive an hour to the branch, move bags from POV to G ride, then hit the road for a TDY.
15. Every DAO must work at least one full and complete pay period on the worst shift, in a aircraft.
16. Mx must have a full Mx crew available +- 1 hour from planned launch time. No more pilots getting blamed and punished because the bird is broke on a Sunday and avionics isnt around to fix it.
17. Hire more aircrew. Not sure the formula. Stop using pilots to do other aircrew/non pilot duties. More SAMs and AEAs or whatever we call them this year. Come up with a formula and hire to it and fly to it. Stop demanding more flight hours from a branch when its thin on mechs, MSS and AEAs. Stop using LEAP to solve all your other manpower shortfalls.
18. Reward people. Unique quals, special duties, etc.
19. Hazard Duty Pay. Some people deserve it.
20. Full Disclosure. Every bonus in AMO should be public record. If its worth a bonus, its worth telling everyone. That specifically includes bonuses for GS-15s and SES.
21. Collective Bargaining !
Notice its not about the money. Its about having a balanced life and career. This job is not a deployment where you work stupid hours for 12 months and go home to a normal life. The purpose on many of these is not more good deals. The purpose is to hold DAOs accountable. There is currently no standard at all. 16 hours max and 10 hours off is the only policy DAOs have to abide by.
Just some ideas. Hey, Im stuck in a hotel on my day off.