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It was during the waning days of the 747 and DTW was the only base for that aircraft. Routes varied but for quite a while there were zero departures from DTW so every single trip started and ended with a deadhead. Despite this fact, the company still put copious amounts of pilots on short call to sit around Detroit and twiddle their thumbs.
Many decided that was stupid and since any trip they would get would start with a deadhead anyway, they just decided not to show up for short call and stayed in Florida or wherever they were and deviated from DH when called. Obviously this was a major abuse of the system.
All worked fine until a whale from ATL to ICN had a medical emergency and diverted into Detroit. Original crew timed out and replacements were called off short call to work the flight. Oops. Quite a few people got caught out and the company went back through KCM records and determined that this had been going on for years. They got fired but ALPA got at least some of them back.
Anecdotally, it seemed the company retaliated with increased short calls for everyone for a while.
That's pretty much it. To add to the context, the company investigated more than just those caught out of position, and found there were dozens of pilots who had not commuted to SC, some of which for a least 2 years. No records of a KCM, Nonrev, JS, or other travel.Originally Posted by 20Fathoms
No firsthand knowledge but this is how I heard it, others can chime in and correct if inaccurate.It was during the waning days of the 747 and DTW was the only base for that aircraft. Routes varied but for quite a while there were zero departures from DTW so every single trip started and ended with a deadhead. Despite this fact, the company still put copious amounts of pilots on short call to sit around Detroit and twiddle their thumbs.
Many decided that was stupid and since any trip they would get would start with a deadhead anyway, they just decided not to show up for short call and stayed in Florida or wherever they were and deviated from DH when called. Obviously this was a major abuse of the system.
All worked fine until a whale from ATL to ICN had a medical emergency and diverted into Detroit. Original crew timed out and replacements were called off short call to work the flight. Oops. Quite a few people got caught out and the company went back through KCM records and determined that this had been going on for years. They got fired but ALPA got at least some of them back.
Anecdotally, it seemed the company retaliated with increased short calls for everyone for a while.
So the company basically said, "You want to play a game? Ok, let's play a game", and maxed out SC's for the summer of 2017 across the system. A classic version of "One guy crapped his pants, now everyone has to wear diapers." I was on the -400 at the time in NYC, with 6 departures daily - so 12 FO's needed. I personally saw 11 FO's on SC more than once.
I had not heard the 4 'fired' were from the out-of-position crew in question, but rather the worst offenders of the dozens investigated. But I don't actually know. What I do know is that APLA spent a lot of political capital for the 4. As I recall, the only pilot who did not get thier job back was because he had a long history the company was not willing to overlook anymore.
So yes, I have a big issue with pilots in a "Union of One" costing the rest of the pilot group. While ALPA has a duty to mount at least a tacit defense in representing its members, that duty is not inviolate or absolute,IMO. There is a line. IOW, you have a right to representation - you do NOT have a right to go off on your own, and make your own set of rules. At some point, we have to police ourselves, and not automatically go all-in on behalf of the worst offenders.