Originally Posted by
CincoDeMayo
I'll just say this, what do they expect? If someone is sick and not fit for duty, nobody is calling out sick before being activated, burning sick time with possibly not being used. With zero drops or any flexibility of reserve pilots, nobody should be shocked when pilots use the sick call if needed.
Some other airlines use a "sick if needed" policy; you call in sick and are only hit with the sick time if you were to be activated. It helps scheduling automatically skip a sick pilot and onto the next, prevents pilots from having to use sick time vs maybe not getting called, and ends the dog and pony show of sick calls as float vacation.
In the end, play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Make it difficult on pilots to have flexibility while on reserve and this is what you get. CBA allows for sick calls fro any medical reason for you and/or family, so if a pilot uses the CBA correctly, let them NOI them all, its a scare tactic.
And finally, this is a company whose management has ran everyones career into the mountain, the can file for liquidation tomorrow and all that sick time is gone. Good for any pilot that is bringing some of that money home before it could be too late. These fools destroyed our careers, they get everything coming to them.
“sick if needed” is complete BS. What’s to stop someone from sick if needed constantly. They get the freedom to collect their pay for being on call when they weren’t going to be used. Then if they get called they still don’t work and the poor sap behind them on the call list gets called called bc the guy above them (more junior) was conveniently sick if used.
Everything else I agree with. Many choose to drop if they have to care for an ill family member to conserve sick time. Now with not knowing the future of the company that doesn’t make much sense. It’s only logical that folks would now use their sick time per the CBA instead of leaving it banked to be stolen if the company folds. That’s just common sense. Heck if you have kids, a spouse, elderly parents it wouldn’t be u realistic to have a monthly sick call if you are unable to drop or choose not to drop and use sick time because management has yet to give us a reason to believe we will be around in the months and years ahead.