Originally Posted by JohnBurke

No misreading, and your words were clear. Anyone that flies overtime during a contract negotiation is an "*******."

Is there anything in your contract which prohibits this, or does your contract provide language covering flying on days off, pay for days off and overtime? Is a first year first officer abiding the contract when he flies overtime or days off? Is he or she compensated?

Has your union or representation advised it's members to avoid overtime or flying days off?

No advice to avoid days off, and anyone flying days off or overtime is abiding the contract?

You see abiding the contract as being an "*******?" Who are you to tell other employees what they should do?

Abiding the contract is one thing. Don't cross picket lines. Don't do overtime when others are furloughed. If an employer has extra flying, however, and employees are flying within the agreed contract, and they're getting paid per the contract, and the contract has no prohibitive language, and there is no sanctioned job action in effect (eg, strike, etc), then the only one out of line suggesting that an employee errs by doing what both the union and the company agreed to...is you.

If you fly with other first officers and learn that they're doing overtime/days off flying, do you call them an "*******" to their face, or just air your complaint here?

Yes, the waters in this thread have been muddied; you muddied them. It's been suggested you back away from it and drop it, but your way of doing that has been to defend it, restate it, argue it, and facing mounting pressure that does not agree with you after you continued to play stir-the-pot, to call for an end. The problem is that for those who might be considering the aspects of employment with your company, putting out what you have thrown out here isn't helping; it only serves to discourage others.

I can imagine a new first officer might have any number of reasons to fly extra. Maybe get through consolidation. Maybe earn overtime pay. Maybe get extra hours. Maybe simply enjoys it. Maybe wants to get away from the wife. Whatever the case, it's not really your call, and certainly inappropriate to suggest that one who is flying the contract, is out of line. Have you not flown under a union contract before? Not been through contract negotiations?

As for the notion that first year pay isn't high enough to justify working extra, what an utterly ridiculous assertion. Doesn't Omni offer the highest first-year pay in the industry? A first officer shouldn't take advantage of contractually-acceptable flying and overtime for a year or more, waiting for a higher wage? A pilot flies days off or overtime now, not next year, not five years from now. In five years, that pilot can worry about what days off or overtime to work, but that future doesn't exist; only now. What an absurd suggestion that one should hold off on overtime or days off, until one has more money. If one has overtime/days off pay to earn now, then that's the landscape. Not next year, not five years. Those times will solve themselves when they happen, but there are no overtime futures, no counting eggs before they hatch.

Beyond name-calling and disparagement, do you have a valid explanation as to why a new-hire first-year F/O shouldn't be flying days off or overtime?