Originally Posted by
RiddleEagle18
The main driver for staffing is the vacation section. That is just now in its infancy. The upgrades and hiring on the last bid were the biggest I’ve seen in 8 years.
I’ll take another assessment next summer and make my full judgement on the CBA then.
The vacation section will drive staffing but if there are more people taking vacation during the busy months then the grid in the busy months will still be red, right? I didn't think staffing (so that people have more flexibility with their schedule) was a priority for ALPA and clearly not for the majority of the pilot group. Low staffing means opportunity for premium, VDA, RSA, etc. which some people love. I think as the pilot group gets older there will be less focus on maxing out monthly credit and more on maxing out days off and on schedule flexibility. Then again, if our W-2's were a little beefier due to profit sharing then maybe guys wouldn't be as focused on RSA's, VDA's etc
This is really on the pilot group, though. From the perspective of ALPA negotiators and leadership, if they got the best that they were able to get and sent it to the group:
A. The group votes it in, then they did their job
B. If the group turns it down, then they would have more leverage in negotiating TA 2.0
The pilot group told them if it was A or B. I think the pilot group is a little green overall when it comes to unions and negotiating. Maybe they will feel empowered by having some improvements and we'll go back to the table for CBA 2 with a little more unity and toughness.