Originally Posted by
JustInFacts
I think you are overestimating the power of 4a2c. It was simply a step that the company had to follow before they could furlough. If the company had wanted to, they could have sent out furlough notices as soon as they published the system bid. The true protection lies in the cost to the company if they furlough. If you think that 4a2c kept Fedex from furloughing, then you must believe their overmanned stories as well.
4a2c protected you from furlough the same as disruption pay, extra duty period pay, FAR extension pay, and overage protect you from the company revising your pairing to fit their needs.
You make a valid point, but I do contend the concept had considerable merit, even if the metrics to establish SAM, for example, were flawed. Now, it seems we've abandoned the concept of meaningful job protections and this is before we have sat down with management on 1.