Our dispatchers receive a money incentive to use less fuel. Paul L does it to us all the time on the international side. And then argues with you and tries to negotiate a compromise. If the captain adds say, 3,000 lbs (going into India is when he's done this to me several times), PL at first replies with "Has something changed, what's wrong?!" The captain then says something short (because the ACARS scratchpad is a PITA to communicate with) and he replies with, "how about 1,500 lbs instead?"

The word I have from another dispatcher is that they get a bonus if they use less fuel. Everyone I've worked with adds what you want without arguing. But PL seems to be motivated by money rather than safety.

 

The next time he does it I'm submitting an ASAP report. Make the company answer to the FAA. At least I hope that's what happens to those things.

 

The rumor about our GOC guys getting cash for saving gas sounds like just that. A rumor. Anybody have any proof of this?

 

Just the word of our dispatcher who jumpseated with me and told me about it during the flight. I guess he could have been making it up.

 

"Flight Management has recently undertaken an aggressive program to identify pilots who choose to call in sick. From what I can tell, this program is not driven by an individual’s past behavior, but rather by the timing of the sick call. The particular parameters placing a given pilot in management’s cross hairs are known only to those in Flight Management. Once you call in sick, you will soon find out if you have hit one of these secret trip wires. You may have gone years without touching your sick bank, but you are immediately a suspect by virtue of the timing of your sickness.

Management assures us that this is not a disciplinary action; it is, after all, just an advisory letter. In the eyes of management, that may well be true, but to a pilot who has spent years cultivating a professional and personal reputation of excellence, this action is insulting and demoralizing. Since these advisory letters are not driven by a pilot’s past record, one is left to wonder just what the program’s goal is. Since we are entering peak and draft calls are on the rise, possibly it is management’s attempt to intimidate pilots into not calling in sick. Whether or not this is their intention, it is certainly the effect. I want you to understand that management’s latest transgression against the CBA is not idly being accepted. The Grievance Chairman is reviewing the filing of a grievance which contests the action. We will provide you with an update as soon as it is filed. In the meantime, if you need advice, please contact the Grievance Chairman at [email protected].

Because it is so personal, we tend to think that this is solely about sick leave. It is not. Management’s action is a small reflection of its larger distain for our CBA. In the past two years, they have attacked the “right to representation,” the “just cause” discipline standard, the jury duty protection provision, and a number of other rights guaranteed by the CBA. Systematically, they have harassed our servicemen and reservists. Finally, they issued advisory letters in unprecedented numbers—papering the crew force into submission.

When it comes to negotiations, Captain Stratton has written about two teams. The same must apply when it comes to management’s administrative assault on the CBA. So, I strongly encourage you to fully comprehend that your manager and your manager’s supervisors are not on your team. They see your CBA as an obstacle or an impediment—a daily hassle around which to scheme when they need a different outcome. Is that how you see our CBA? I see our CBA as an essential body of rights which has been earned over the past two decades by countless volunteers. I’m not giving it up for anyone or anything and I know which team supports that view.

Fly safe,
JC"

 

Sounds like he responded, not kind of. Last paragraph says it all.

 

I'd take it higher than an ASAP report. That dispacher isn't the one that is flying to India! My last company was a 135 nightmare that had the pilots do the flight planning which i didnt mind doing. It gave me the feeliing that it was done correctly. Then management decided they wanted that power..
Well after the first few times I saw what they calculated for a block out fuel release, I said I couldnt do the flight. I told them I had been flying this plane for 5+ years and I know what the fuel burns are and that was not a sufficient amount for the planned flight.
Happy to say I got out of that place. I hope it gets better for the rest of the people there, but Im not gonna hold my breath.

 

Most of the time I'm not fit for duty....its is due to inadequate rest. This can be caused by something bothering me like a back, shoulder, stomach ache, or someone else in my life that is having problems. I usually just call in sick when the real problem is fatigue/inadequate rest.

Given the new policy on sick letters - more of my calls will be fatigue calls if the end result of "the sick problem" is that I am actually inadequately rested. It can take a week to get over a significant sleep deprivation. Longer, if the underlying cause of the sleep deficit continues past the fatigue call.

 

In my mind, having to get a doctors note when I called in sick in an insult to our personal integrity unless management has reason (and evidence) to document that you might not be sick (we've heard rumors over the years of the hiring Private Investigators ... how much does that cost?).

That being said, my personal experience has been that "should" I ask my doctor for a not he almost alway writes, "Under my care on XYZ date, should be OK for work in 10 days." I suspect if I told him I was fatigued he would write the exact same note. I could probably tell him I needed an extra week of vacation.

If Management is going to require doctors notes they should make our copay and deductible an allowable expense on our expense reports!*? Maybe a 3.0hr pay credit (Special Project Pay)?

 

"In my mind, having to get a doctors note when I called in sick in an insult to our personal integrity unless management has reason (and evidence) to document that you might not be sick"

I agree with this. It is quite embarrassing to ask your doctor for what they call a "work excuse" letter. It makes you feel like a child, asking Mommy or Daddy for a letter to bring to grade school.

I recently was "requested" to provide a letter for a sick call over peak, for a short trip that wasn't in conjunction with vacation, holidays, or over reserve. Apparently they have determined a certain percentage of us have made sick calls in the past that the computer program doesn't like, and every time we call in sick from now on, the computer will generate a demand for a doctor's letter. When I talked to the union, they said one of their grievances was for a pilot that had called in sick only four times in 25 years, and hadn't called in sick over reserve, holiday or near vacation. Who knows what the computer parameters are, calling in sick on a Tuesday? So those of you who feel comfortable because you think you don't hit their parameters....you have no idea of what the parameters are, and the next time you call in sick, you may have to provide a letter for all eternity.

Another pilot I know received an Advisory Letter purely because he never saw the email request for a doctor's letter. They considered just sending people an unacknowledged email as "notification", and since he never saw it and didn't provide the letter in time, he received a threatening letter on his doorstep. I think they changed it to a crew notification lately, but really, sending threatening letters because you missed an email? Probably buried under the stack of daily iPad emails.

Another point, when I asked my doctor to provide more details on the letter...ie that I had a sinus infection and was prescribed antibiotics (as it only said I was under his care and when I could go back to work), he said, "Absolutely not. It's none of their business, and it is illegal under privacy laws for me to give more details."

Needless to say, I'm pretty disgusted. I never cause any trouble and go above and beyond to get the freight there. If management is bringing on the ire of people like me, who are usually very happy and rarely complain.....they've lost us all.