If past performance is any indication, they won't do anything to help 12 to 14 year ABX pilots who are again on unemployment. In fact, as soon as they announce the furloughs are canceled, it'll be the same old “hogs at da trough.” EXCO members grabbing all the open time they can.

You guys are crying about “saving jobs” but let's see how long that lasts.

Short answer is....no...according to 1224 hotline the union and the company have put the LOA on hold with the increased flying...

What's the status of the furlough notices? Have they been rescinded?

It is my understanding that ABX will be taking over Capital 727 routes after December. Is ABX still going to need to furlough 20? Are they still working on an LOA to save jobs?

See above...

If furloughs are canceled, those affected probably won't be notified any earlier than close of business Dec 28.

SPOILER ALERT - Nitefr8dog, you should probably hit the back button right now because you are not going to like what I'm going to say or where I'm saying it. If you decide to read on, I am not responsible if you get your feelings hurt again.

Word on the street is that ATSG/ABX is going to notify 14 of the 20 pilots scheduled to be furloughed after Dec. 31 that their furlough is canceled. The other six will have their furlough date extended to Jan 14.

I doubt management will give much in the way of explanation. Maybe they just want to buy some time to see what happens after the first of the year? Maybe they just like to prolong the fear among the pilot group?

This news has a positive aspect. For the 14 pilots who get their furloughs canceled, this is good news. For the six that get extended, worst case scenario is that they, at least, get one more paycheck before they hit the street.

My concern is that ATSG/ABX already did this earlier this year. They announced a furlough then partial cancellation while stringing some at the lower end of the list along with several extensions.

ATSG/ABX has a strong furlough protection with a 30 notice followed by some other enhancements. This is superior to ATSG/ATI, which only gets a 14 day notice and COBRA.

The problem is that, by announcing speculative furloughs then extending them, the management could be doing this as a tactic to increase their flexibility at the expense of the pilots. Let's take this to an extreme. What if the management announces they need to furlough the bottom 50 (20%) pilots in thirty days then does 26 extensions of 2 week each. In this scenario, they have effectively reduced their furlough notification from 30 days to 14 days for a year. The same as ATSG/ATI. In other words, they just stole a free contract concession without even having to fight over it.

So, maybe they don't do 14 day extensions for 26 weeks. What if it's 25 weeks, or 24 weeks, or 23 weeks, or... You get the point. Where do we draw the line? The more times management gets away with this free contract concession, the more difficult it will be to stop this in the future. They are setting a precedent.

APA1224/ABX needs to put a stop to this furlough extension and insist that if the company wants to change the effective date, they have to cancel the current furlough and announce a new furlough with a 30 notice. Extension for furlough effective date is not covered by the contract so, it might be necessary to take it to arbitration. This should be dealt with immediately before the company is allowed to establish more of a pattern of behavior that is tolerated by the union.

Opponents might argue that this could force management to follow through with the furlough. That is a possibility, but, if management will furlough on December 31, they are going to furlough anyway. Also, if things change in those two weeks between Dec 31 and Jan 14, the company can just issue a recall. It is a relatively small risk to uphold the integrity of the CBA.

I agree 100%. We need to put a stop to their little mind games! No furlough extension. Make them cancel and reissue.

"Make them"....now thats funny I don't care who you are.....

While "making them" is difficult and can be problematic, the point is well taken and considered. The contract is what it is per se'. The union should enforce the dates, even if it means furloughing, as stated in the contract. Anyone who voted for the agreement, elected to have all the variables, dates, etc. enforced without a continued wholesale discounting of something that may be perceived as good for some (but not for others).

This is a continued event of the Exco at ABX of favoring one set of union members over another (i.e. employed ones vs. furloughed ones). If you believe the union should prioritize and save the jobs of those who are active, and defer the potential job recall of those who are not [active], this thread and concept will make no sense to you.

I for one are sicken and dishearten by these continued events and I have let this Exco know that. The wish is that others, both active and furloughed, would do the same. Many whom this does not affect (active/not junior) really don't even care. In this case, the "union" is simply the Exco and not the membership as a whole.