Originally Posted by FangsF15

The short answer is, technically no, but... ALPA asks us to always go to the company first. To that end, the real point of the Crew Assist case is to "Stop the clock". You have 120 days to officially notify the company of a contract violation, or ALPA cannot get you made whole (aka paid). Though you can stop the clock with a phone call to CS, by 'forcing' you to have a CA case number, ALPA is protecting you. Once the 'clock' is stopped, ALPA has 2 years to pursue payment.

Technicallly, if ALPA scheduing gets to your STS case and sends the company a demand for payment before 120 days, a CA inquiry is not absolutely required. BUT it is not worth the risk, since there have been times where the pile of company violations has been so high, ALPA couldn't adjudicate all the pilots in line in front of you in time.

As I understand, STS is not first come, first served. It's done by 'event date'. Regardless, by doing them both at the same time, it gives ALPA a chance to double check the company. It's to your/my advantage to be as proactive with a second CA case, call to CS, call to CPO, FCR, etc as possible (get paid quickest). STS allows you to update your STS case to include developements along the way. The more you help APLA, the faster they can get to other cases.