C12 Update 7/11/22

Comments Regarding Some of the FAQs from MEC Communications

Your Council Officers believe that the TA should not require being sold, it should sell itself.

MEC Comm Question: How does the offer American Airlines’ management (AAL) made to their pilots (APA) compare to our TA?

MEC Comm Answer: The MEC has reviewed the AAL offer. APA has not commented, and at this point the offer is merely a list of bullet points with little public detail. Based on the information released, many of the terms match the terms of our TA or would bring their contract up to par with our TA, as AA is starting about 2% behind us. Until another airline has an actual TA, it is speculation to make a comparison on what might happen.

Council 12 Answer: Another way to say this is that the proposal to the Allied Pilots Association is a management proposal using our TA as a template, with a per diem offer by their company of $3 for CONUS/Canada and 3.50 for all others. Our TA does not acheive $3 for CONUS/Canada until 2028 and $3.50 for all others until 2025. The American management proposal also includes a sick leave payout of 50 cents on the dollar at retirement.

We lowered the bar with our TA such that American Airlines management was willing to offer it to their pilots, plus some. We fully expect the APA to counter and improve upon this low bar proposal. APA President Edward Sicher has stated that the entire proposal is wholly inadequate.

MEC Comm Question: Does the TA force Lineholders to sit Field Standby (FSB) when their flying cancels?

MEC Comm A: NO, just the opposite; Lineholder reassignment into FSB is allowed in the current UPA when the pilot’s trip or originating segment cancels before report time under 20-F-1-a-(5). The TA makes that optional to the pilot even for a reserve. It would require pilot concurrence to accept the FSB, and the pilot would receive 1 hour of Add Pay for the voluntary assignment and 1 hour of Add Pay if the FSB is unused. Note, if the company is operating under Section 20-O, Abnormal Operations, the pilot’s concurrence is not needed but the associated Add Pay remains applicable.

The Above Answer Gets Two Pinocchios

Council 12 Answer: The above answer is mis-leading at best. The truthful answer is YES. Just as in our current UPA, lineholders can be forced to sit Field Standby(FSB) when their originating flight cancels before report time. The only difference in the TA is the FSB assignment is optional with add pay during normal operations when the Company is less likely to ask for voluntary FSB's. Hardly an improvement to our current UPA. This TA still allows the crew desk to force lineholders and reserves to sit FSB when their original flight cancels before report time during abnormal operations.


MEC Comm Question: Do the crew schedulers now have increased access to lineholders for reassignments because of changes to 20-I-5.

MEC Comm A: NO. There has been no change to the level of access or order of reassigning lineholders. The changes in 20-I-5 remove the Untriggered Reassignment Add Pay in some instances for Basic trips that is in the current book (that value was used to fund the part of the new Overtime provisions) but do NOT change the ability to reassign crews.


The Above Answer Gets Two Pinocchios


Council 12 Answer: The truthful answer is YES. Lineholders can be reassigned ahead of in base reserves if the company chooses under this TA. In other words, the TA removes add pay from the current UPA section (Untriggered Reassignment), a provision the Company is using more now than ever, to fund other sections of the TA. Without the Untriggered penalty for basic pilots, a lineholder is now thrown in the mix with all other pilots and used at the discretion of the crew desk. The loss of 20-I-9 in this TA will open the crew desk up to creative solutions to its real-time problems.

MEC Comm Question: Why are we agreeing to terminate MOU 20-01?

MEC Comm A: MOU 20-01 does not run concurrent with the contract like some other LOAs and MOUs do. It sunsets once the CDC determines COVID is no longer an epidemic. We cannot say for certain when that will occur, but in anticipation that will occur, we were able to get the Company to transition the COVID “long haul” pilots to the LTD plan at the 2023 cap of $12,500, rather than their date of disability which for many Pilots would have meant $8,000 cap.

This is the sick leave liquidation provision. The TA terminates MOU 20-01 prior to the CDC declaring COVID no longer an epidemic. A “caring” company would take care of the pilots with long haul COVID.

Upon termination of MOU 20-01, all pilots will be required to use their own sick time in order to quarantine for 10 days or longer if they or a household member test positive for COVID and the pilot is symptomatic. Additionally, what most pilots likely do not realize is that under MOU 20-01, a pilot may use their sick leave to care for anyone in their household who is exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Without MOU 20-01, pilots are not permitted to use sick leave to care for a household member unless
they are based in California. What this will mean going forward is that all sick time used to comply with required quarantine will count towards Dependability Monitoring by the company, and pilots will no longer be permitted to use their own sick time to care for a family member who exhibits flu-like symptoms.

Additionally, any pilot required to use sick time to quarantine for COVID 19 is likely, conservatively, to use a minimum of 30 hours of sick leave unless they have only 1 trip in 10 days. Thirty hours of sick leave is roughly equal to a 4% raise. Here's the math, and it works for all fleets because it is a percentage:

Twelve year A319 Captain pay increases by $10.87 per hour under this TA. Multiplying that times the reserve guarantee of 73 hours and then times 12 yields an annual increase of $9522.12. If the same airbus 12th year A319 Captain calls in sick once in a year, their 30 hour sick leave debit will equate to $8475.30 of pay. Therefore, 89% of the A319 12th year reserve Captain's raise is funded by one COVID sick call. Under MOU 20-01, COVID is paid by the company. At the lineholder guarantee 92.8% of the raise is funded by one COVID sick call and at 90 hours 72% of the raise is funded by one COVID sick call. If a pilot gets COVID more than once is a year, the raise is more than funded by the sick leave debit.

Lastly, does anyone think the retro pay calculator is being rolled out this week to buy votes?