Mostly stuck. We've been ALPA since 1947 and have scheduling rules that in no way resemble that of a "major" airline.

 

PDM pays 4 hours.

Posting of PDM schedules, bidding and awarding is similar to training. If you have closed all the bulletins under the training tab, around the middle of the month, a green flag will appear. Click on the tab and you will see a bulletin notifying eligible bidders that lines are posted to FLICA. If you are eligible for bidding, log in to FLICA if you aren't already, and view the lines. From there, you can either bid a PDM schedule you like, or do nothing. The default bid is no PDM, but PDM is inverse assigned. Once PDM is awarded (if you have closed previous bulletins) a green flag will appear on the training tab notifying you to reference FLICA for your award.

The problem with PDM is it only pays 4 hours and could blow up a 4 day on your schedule worth 25+ hours. It then becomes your problem to "fix" your schedule during step trades (lest you be assignable after 2nd step closes).

PDM is only held in the middle of the week. If you are a commuter who regularly gets weekends off, it will wreak havok on your schedule.

 

Would you prefer to resemble most "major" airlines and have PBS? That's a genuine question. Some people swear by it and some people hate it. PBS would negate the one tool of manipulation we "won" in the last contract, which is the ability to trade individual days of vacation.

 

I would enjoy the same scheduling flexibility of SWA or Delta. PBS is all about the software. Frankly I don't trust our management enough to let them use PBS....its a "once bitten" type thing.

 

Bite your tongue! I would NEVER want to see PBS come to Alaska! Would you trust this management group to purchase a decent software that has the potential to make our lives better, or just go for the cheap stuff (or company developed software) that would make our lives much worse than it is today? Rest assured, if you're on vacation running say the 15th through 25th, you WILL be working up through the 14th and promptly returning to work for a 05:00 report on the 26th. If that's what you want to do with your vacation time, fine, but do it to yourself and don't be forced into it by the company. I DO NOT TRUST our management with PBS!!!

 

Exactly correct. Now if they want to talk about 5 hours a day for vacation and a whole host of other corrections.....

I want my $500k back!

 

Could you imagine the $hit JW and KB at crew scheduling will stir up to ****** the pilots over day in day out?!?!?! Add in Judas of ALPA and you have the Anti-Christ's army. They will make Lucifer look like a saint.

 

Me too! We've given far too much when compared to other labor groups. It's payback time!

 

PBS is also about who has final say in the runs. At Delta, the union has final QC over the end product. The company turns the results over to the union, who can make the company run different parameters if the results are too heinous.
While there is still unstacking on holidays, and you can't always protect someone who just doesn't know how to bid, in the end it's not too bad. I'm sure the company would like to run it as advantageous as possible to them and call it good.
That said, the actual trips the company builds, well, that can be a whole different story.

 

I laughed so hard I just fell out of my wheelchair!