Originally Posted by
newKnow
DISCLAIMER FOR THE POWERS THAT BE: I have never called in sick when I wasn't.
Herc & Slow,
Doesn't your exampe only work if the company is having to actually have to "pay" claims out? I think you guys are gonna have to explain to me how the company is losing money when a pilot calls in sick if he is on a fleet that has a ton of reserves that will cover his flying? They were going to be paid 70 or 75 hours anyway, right? Doesn't it all depend on IF the company has to change their staffing formula at a later date based on their historical data?
Also, if this discussion began because you think Carl said that the post bankruptcy contract gains were accomplished because of sick calls costing the company too much money and those guys who called in sick were "thieves," I think you should consider one thing: NWA management had just scored a HUGE gain in being able to force all pilots to fly 88-89 hours per month. Excuse me, I should have made FORCE bold and underlined it. I have no facts or figures, but IMO I would guess that the gain realized by being able to put an extra 20 hours on each pilots line far exceeded the loss of a few guys calling in sick. And slow, while I'm not informed on how your 1113 negotiations went, shouldn't management be required to show the gains they have made that might have contributed to the increased sick call usage? Is it not fair that they get to claim the bad and hide the good?
I will say though, that the New Delta contract in many ways is better than what we had at NWA. Being able to drop trips and other things are perks we didn't have. So, maybe some DAL-N guys will take advantage of those things, instead of calling in sick. A lot of them just lost 2000 plus hours in their sick bank though. So, those guys might be a little sour to the idea of not calling in sick. Who knows? This merger is a process and the two groups and their way of doing things will not be melded together overnight. But I think that we should at least try to understand each other.
From my perspective, I think there are too many labels being thrown around and I think it's counter productive. Everything is not black and white and we shouldn't try to make it that way. The more "captains discretions" we have in the K, the better.
New K Now
Excellent Post!
The issue is NOT black and white as some on here seem to think. Take two theoretical pilots over a five-year period. Pilot A takes care of himself, stays fit, eats well, and for whatever reason (luck, hit the genetic lottery,whatever) has not been sick in five years. Pilot B on the other hand doesn't really take care of himself, isn't fit, eats junk, and gets sick all the time.
Pilot A has called in sick once in the last five years. His sickness was questionable. It looks like he just got caught with his pants down.
Pilot B has called in sick an average of three times a year for the last five years for a total of fifteen sick calls... Poor guy.
I see some of the posters on this forum saying that pilot A is stealing from them and the company. Our sick usage is high and it is because our own pilots are stealing it.
The fact is our profession is different from most in regards to sick leave. We need a liberal sick leave policy. We don't need incentives for sick pilots to come to work. As everyone here knows, a head cold in our line of work is different than other professions.
It is up to us as individuals to make the call if we are fit for work or not. If our sick policy costs negotiating capital, so be it. It all comes out in the wash. This issue is not black and white.