Originally Posted by
NoStep
Let me get this right...you don't understand this?
The company says we're overstaffed, so they put a bunch of people on the streets. When the system malfunctions (blizzard, runway construction in JFK, or the wind blows the wrong direction in ATL), they start involuntarily jm'ing. For the people left on property, crew sched. tries to assign illegal trips to plug the gaps, lines are for crap, jm'ing is rampant, reserves become crazy senior and everyone is miserable. ALL these events build a case for the union that we're not "right sized" at all, and need to recall!
Along comes Timmy Toolbag and says, "Garsh...I'll take that open trip! I need the extra cash for the ComiCon convention!"
The company says, "See, ALPA...we don't need no stinking recalls!"
If Timmy needs the extra cash, he can sell his near-mint copy of "The Smurfs, #1"...but don't make the case for the company when people are on furlough.
Mmmkay?!
How about this: our union should get off of the fence and say "don't pick up open time." Need I remind everyone that we are not in sec. 6 negotiations?
Until then, all this grousing about who or who isn't picking up (or being JM'ed for) open time is accomplishing nothing. Wait a minute, it does accomplish something: it gives people a scapegoat they can take out their anger on.
One other thing I would also mention is that we were understaffed before furloughs, we are understaffed now, and we will be understaffed when they all come back. Capisci?