Originally Posted by
Merle Haggard
You're so not picking up on how FDX works. They will happily give you the top pay in the industry for PBS - providing that they can set the parameters so that they save more than enough money for it to cost them less than nothing. That's the only way. If they agree to a PBS construct you can bet that we're on the losing end of it and our QOL will take a huge hit.
It's not PBS in particular that we're "scared" of. It's the FACT that any major change historically WILL involve a hidden interpretation, predetermined by FDX, that will result in catastrophic damage to us. That is why those of us who have been around here for awhile aren't interested in cracking open the patient's chest in any area - the doctor usually starts drinking the blood.
There's nothing inherently evil with PBS, it's just a computer program. But you need to roll into it eyes wide open like you said.
It WILL give a productivity boost to the Company. There is practically no way around that unless you keep "touching trips" in place. It's biggest gain is in the month to month transition, where the company needs to stack reserves to cover trips that fall out. Sure, vacay, training, mil leave accounts for some, but all together it is still less than the benefit the transition coverage provides them. If you leave the touching trips function in, there is no point in PBS from the Company standpoint. They'll just continue jacking everyone around with the pre-published lines.
There is absolute benefit from PBS....the means to choose your own adventure, and not be locked into the drek the company publishes. That does nothing, however, if the trips are trash themselves.
If you are going to go down that road, there are a few things to understand:
1) The Company IS going to get a productivity boost. You need to absolutely extract that value in other places, and make it count.
2) You need absolute veto control over the PBS system, how it is programed, the rules, what system provider you use, the user interface, everything. You need the power to tell the company to pound sand with a kill switch, and have people involved every step of the way, and the Company needs to eat the cost of doing that.
3) Vacation and other absences is going to mean something different. Total days in a week or vacay period is what works or line bidding. For PBS, it's all about credit per day that goes towards your line obligation. Pay only for a vacation day means absolutely nothing.
4) Bad trips will still suck. PBS won't fix that. Different problem, different solution.