Actually the issue is they're still using an excel spreadsheet to sort the bids which is really a stretch and one reason the results often violate seniority.....the bidding interface has changed (CBI) which at first glance IMO is vastly superior to the Merlot bidding interface.

If it works as advertised that is....

And it doesn't really matter what I think or you think but whether the company can get the judge to accept it as satisfying the points he laid out in his original injunction.

 

So does this mean the company has returned to status quo and the strike for it has been abated?

 

No. Any PBS, in any form, is a violation of status quo. It doesn't matter what they call it.

 

seriously guys think about what you are doing. and how it is handled. you are essentially reorganizing an excel spreadsheet. since that is the case, why not just take the excel spreadsheet, rank the trips and email it back? merlot, cbi... it's all just for show. more lies. if you think this is going to honor seniority, you are out of your mind. but I'll play along. let me know how long it took you to bid then let me know how your schedule works out for you next week. it appears it has built in excuses when it screws you over. that's a nice feature, I'll give you that.

 

I am a IWA FO and CBI actually worked great for me. In CBI you have more control over your schedule if you are senior, unlike line bidding where you only have 15 possible outcomes. I agree wholeheartedly that it is a violation of status quo and we should strike to bring it back. But since you asked for my opinion......

 

I tend to agree with this. CBI has some nice features up front to be sure, but a lot of it is just rehashed Merlot with a pretty interface. Sure you can set up a standing bid, but it's fairly generic from what I've seen. You still have to spend time rearranging EVERY trip/reserve period under the monthly view to make sure what you want is in order. Notice I said EVERY trip/reserve period? That's because to avoid having "apathetic" bidders every crewmember now bids on every trip and every reserve period. Don't want a trip? Better make sure it's in your least preferred section and at the bottom since you're now bidding for everything. Also if there are days off you just have to have you better make sure your most preferred/least preferred are set up right cause once it finishes going thru your most preferred it jumps to least preferred and may dump something on a day if you haven't ranked it right. I found there to be a bunch of little gotchas that people are gonna miss. Honestly I don't care what the input method is, if the output still comes from the solver it's going to be unpredictable and not honor seniority if "company needs" prevail. You just won't have to email and wait 5 days to find out why you got hosed...the excuses (er Results) page will show you. Anything other than a full return to line bidding or a NEGOTIATED real PBS system that other airlines use and like is unacceptable.

 

It's about more than bidding. If you would like to have a few people hired junior to you or a vacation that isn't offset with 85 hours of flying in three weeks then line bidding is better.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go do the required 45 minute videos and quiz regarding workplace harassment that I don't get paid for but is required.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong the initial injunction did not require a return to paper bids only an improvement to Merlot if the judge buys off on CBI then it satisfies the status quo.....

 

It did because the company gave testimony that they could not operate unless they used Merlot... meanwhile ENV has never used it. Be interesting to see them explain that tomorrow.

 

It's okay. They just added PERJURY to the "core values".