A fully automated system with built in time delay is superior considering the current Substitution vs. OTP system. It would also eliminate the scheduler trying to help their "bud" with an instantaneous filling of their coordinated m/u request.

Real time and Real time with automated time delay are basically the same thing.

Sub can suck, and anecdotally sure seems like the Wolfpack are abusing the system, but fixing this problem could create another.

At one point in time, I was told AA pilots were not pay protected if a trip was cancelled, don't know how true that is with other airlines. Getting rid of OTP & SUB could lead to an unintended consequence

It's too bad our FC are allowing this potentially unsafe situation to perpetuate itself. The perception exists, JS protests to the contrary, that some folks are gaming the system and that could easily foster a less than harmonious environment in the cockpit

check out PFC homepage's latest update....

To me OTP has been more about the 25% and not the scheduling as I have never been in a Jet short on F/Os and long on open time availability. I don't think anyone is suggesting getting rid of OTP just ways to get schedulers out of the loop. Thus reducing human error and temptation.

Nothing will be done because of who they are and who some are buddies with.

Uh oh...now you've done it!

Duck!!

exactly.......!!

I'm actually pretty impressed by the explanation on the website. It sounds like the company really is following this up. It is their job, not the unions, to do so anyways. Can there be hope that after the sick/mil leave harassment, that they are actually trying to follow their own guidelines in ethical behavior?

Seems like, though, this wouldn't be that hard to investigate. Maybe tough to prove something unethical is going on, but they could get a good idea of what is happening. They can trace our every button click. They know who the suspects are.

Easy to figure out if someone is checking open time constantly, has OTP and is using it to recycle, trading it with the others. Time consuming, but legal. If someone is only checking right before a charter/extra comes out, then the second a trip comes open, they input the makeup request---suspicious, they are getting inside information. If I had access to their trip trade history and button clicks, I think I could figure this out in 5 minutes, though not necessarily prove anything, just have a good idea of what is going on.

I'm kind of amazed that whatever the case, ethical or not, these guys keep doing it, while knowing they are under investigation. Even if I knew I was not doing anything wrong, I'm sure I would knock it off, at least for awhile. I guess greed has no bounds.

I'm amazed also. They're under the microscope from the company and from fellow pilots, yet they keep grabbing all the charters. You would think they'd lie low till it all calmed down. I mean, JS getting 3 charters, not including xtra pairings, in Jan And Feb alone just highlights himself more and more.

Greed has no bounds that's for sure.

I'd back off also. I don't know any of the perpetrators - but I've heard more rumor that they do and will get special treatment. For those that do know...are we talking relatives of company big wigs....are we talking minority status.....do they have pictures of important people with farm animals? Perhaps they believe themselves to be untouchable.

Good question. Must be the farm animals angle. Don't think minority status gets you zip after you're hired, trust me on that one.

Okay, so I finally looked up some of the pairings that you guys have been talking about and holy cow!!! I would love to know how JS is getting all of these trips!!!

So BM reads APC.

I was also very impressed, however I have a different take on the who and why. The union should be holding individuals to the publish code of ethics without some sort of vision,direction, or rules an organization will cease to exist. The company is only responsible if there is some sort of illegal activities unless they see some sort of benefit on correcting the wrong. It's obvious that the company sees this as an issue within the crew force and it's going to leverage it for future negotiations. I've heard SS talk about the gorilla in the room well ALPA created a gorilla. ALPA should be ashamed of themselves.

I understand your distaste for this behavior, it has to be accomplished through some sort of rule twisting or coordination with inside help. There is no other explanation, however you read the SCP's letter and even they have found NO reason to act, yet.

How do you act upon your own members without actual proof? Secondly, ALPA does not have the power to conduct unilateral expulsions or levy discipline. I suggest you research the ALPA Manuals and there is a section on how internal charges are dealt with when foul play or conduct against the Association is suspected. Not an easy hurdle, nor should it be an easy one.

I have confidence that the Company will act when and if they have a case, until then ALPA is not in a position to act IMHO.

ALPA should be ashamed?
What management Cubicle do you live in?

How did ALPA create this?

What entity controls the posting and assigning of open time?

What entity has Access to every pilot's Calendar, even the ones that are Blocked?

What entity has access to a Pilot's Entire Finger input history on PFC, to include Trips trade inputs, time stamps, OTP banks, etc etc etc?

What entity has recordings of all conversations between schedulers and Crew members?

The answer isn't ALPA. Management created this and it is there responsibility to fix it.

You somehow expect that ALPA should track these Alleged violators down and execute them without any due process. I'll admit there are sketchy circumstances and it is coincidental (too coincidental) that many of these choice charters seem to go to a select few, but nobody on here has shown Real evidence of wrong doing, and furthermore, if you believe whats on written by Mgt on PFC , neither does the SCP, but he is apparently looking into it.

Do we really want ALPA to become the Disciplinarian?
Management seems to be doing just fine on their own!
….and if your answer is yes, where would you suggest the line be drawn?
Should ALPA become the Sick police?
Should ALPA become the Uniform Nazis?
What about Incidents/accidents? Should ALPA turn in it's own?

Should ALPA create a toll free 1- 800- Turn in your Buddy Hotline?

Ive worked in past environments where a fellow crew member
would turn a fellow airman in behind his/her back, but not before they smiled and said goodbye it sure was a great trip. That is Not an environment I care to work under again and I certainly don't expect my Union to foster that.

ALPA's job is protect and enhance the careers of it's pilots, all it's pilots.

Let's see, ALPA should go after these alleged clowns and get them Fired according to you. Then they will spend hundreds of thousands in Dues $$ and man hours to defend and get them re-instated, because that is ALPA's job.

And who is FDX ALPA anyway? 4300 of us…. well most of us.
Peer pressure can go a long way. Just saying……….

Deleted for a Duplicate post

Point of order. The company does not have a recording of personal cell phone to personal cell phone conversations between schedulers and crews.

Lag ,You are technically correct, But they(Management) can get records of those alleged calls, to include txt messages, emails and the lot if they want to…. and have proven that the will in the past.

Since we know mgmt is reading this I'd like to help them.
Take a look at two airbus captains ( husband and wife ) neither a check airman or instructor. They flew from Anchorage to Asia. No F/O.

I think they parked in the out and back lot too.

So you and BusDrivr are very impressed. At what? That a blog entry concerning Charters came out? Are your feelings being recognized?

I'm not so easily impressed. The claim is a 2+ year investigation is in progress but has gone nowhere. I don't think their heart is in it.

I can't believe some of the passionate, but confused, posters. It's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff in this thread.

Do you guys post because the guys on the crew bus just don't understand your point? Well we don't either.

That's only if you file an expense report for a taxi you didn't take.

For charters they'll have another meeting before they consider the pros and cons of take further action.

Shouldn't be a shocker, nor should you be amazed that mgt probably has a pretty good idea of who's who on APC

Part 91 Flight Test if they are who I think they are.

Why not treat charters the same as volunteer?
When times are good and people are on the volunteer list, one of the criteria for being assigned a trip is the amount of volunteer flying done in a defined preceding time frame.
How difficult would it be to have the same system in place for charters?
If you fly a charter you go to the bottom of the list and everyone who submits to pick up the next available charter is eligible to be assigned the trip before
you.

Seems like an easy fix to me. However I'm sure it's not that simple.

There is a quite simple fix to most of the problem with the charter wh*res, besides putting the rat bast*rds on a deserted island. They need to build the charter trips into bidpack lines. I talked to a charter rep and he said the vast majority of charter trips are known months in advance. There will be an occasional pop up charter that can't be put into the bidpack that the wh*res can fight over. Please write your SIG and block reps and suggest this. The company can't fix this, but we can!

Fix all of this by making all the charters out of ANC then you really cut off any chance of the privileged getting a crack at them : )

I think this is what all the hubbub is about. I've flown many charters over the years that were built into a normal line. Stansted-Akrotiri Cyprus, Chitose-Melborne, Anchorage-Kagoshima, Rota-Sigonella-Bahrain and back are some examples. None were DDHs. Maybe the company assigns a value on whether or not the charter is likely to be canceled or delayed.......and if it is, it's withheld from the bid pack. If any of the above was cancelled, I'd have had a heck of a long layover somewhere and we know the company hates synthetic time. Besides, what would I have done for 6 days in Subic? :)

Really, skeebo2? Are you talking about the couple where one is now retired and the other in flight test, doing a perfectly legal flight... years ago? Give me a break.

Skeebo2
They are also part 91 and carry no freight.

BLOG

"...seem to be picked up", "...apparent good fortune ", really?

Huh?

Has he LOOKED at their calendars?

"Jerry...it's like discovering plutonium, by accident! "

ALPA should be ashamed?
What management Cubicle do you live in?

Low blow no need for name calling. All, I’m glad we are having this conversation as you can see lots of different INDIVIDUAL opinions but these opinions do not move the union forward. The collective effort is what creates the synergies required to obtain the gains and brotherhood that we all seek. The code of ethics is the foundation of this union without preserving them we lose credibility and collective strength to enhance this profession. It’s so important ALPA provided guidance and procedures in the constitution/by laws to enforce the code. This is why I feel ALPA is currently doing a disservice by not communicating with us and allowing management to do this.

How did ALPA create this?

More than three weeks ago this thread was started many union members expressed their concern to their reps to provide us some guidance on the matter. The response has been the silent treatment, “quit whining”, or we are trying to fix it in the next contract. These responses have all been to individuals rather than a clear message to the crew force like requested. The lack of communication caused many theories, lots off dissent, and now management is using this issue as a prime tool for division. This division has been preached for some time and ALPA let the door open. Like BM said it’s been under investigation for 2 years, so I think in that span ALPA could have communicated with the force.

Do we really want ALPA to become the Disciplinarian?
Should ALPA become the Sick police?
Should ALPA become the Uniform Nazis?
What about Incidents/accidents? Should ALPA turn in it's own?
Let's see, ALPA should go after these alleged clowns and get them Fired according to you. Then they will spend hundreds of thousands in Dues $$ and man hours to defend and get them re-instated, because that is ALPA's job.

No, Please read my earlier posts I never asked for anybody to get fired. I only asked ALPA to enforce their code, which can result in placing individual in “Bad Standing” (Section 12 ALPA Constitution, this might not be the best example as they use late dues as the prime example) and later decertifying if desired results are not met.Let’s not compare apples with oranges. These items you list are not breaches of the code. They are company breaches on the CBA. These items you list are collective items garnered through our CBA, which have been negotiated. ALPA members have a right to conduct themselves accordingly. A little tid bit did you know:
“In the event of a suit against a member arising out of his employment, ALPA shall not be obligated to provide legal assistance, except to the extent that such action would be within the recognized purposes of ALPA in protecting and advancing the welfare and security of all airline pilots individually and collectively. Further, any question arising as to the justification of such legal assistance in any particular case or set of circumstances shall be resolved by the Executive Council.(ALPA Manual section 41 paragraph c).
As you have now learned it’s not ALPA’s job to protect individuals against being fired. I think morally it is, so why not go on with the process of executing the decertifying measures then if they don’t comply decertify. This way you nor I have to pay the legal fees with a good conscious.

Peep pressure is strong this is why I urge anybody who believes in our fabric to continue pressuring ALPA into presenting an official statement.

What is the process I keep talking about?

It starts with the Professional standards committee (FEDEX MEC policy manual section 19)

Constitution/bylaws Artiicle 2 section 7 Termination
A. Membership shall be terminated by expulsion when a member remains in bad standing for a period of two (2) consecutive months because of nonpayment of his dues, assessments, or fines, as provided in Article IX, or when he is expelled as provided in Article VIII, or when terminated as provided in this Article; or by voluntary resignation submitted in writing by the member (recommended via certified mail/return receipt) to the Vice President-Administration/Secretary of the Association.

Constitution/bylaws Artiicle VIII Hearing and Appeal procedures.
“A. Any member (including any Inactive member) may be disciplined, fined, or expelled for any of the following acts:
10) Doing any act contrary to the best interests of the Association or its members.”

The actual process is elaborated in Constitution/bylaws Article VIII section 3


Policing our own is not new in a union. Other unions do it monthly with due fees. We do not see this at FedEx because of our closed shop status.

Very true

Though on Internet message boards some people wear many masks...and some masks are worn by many people

Big brother is watching
 

A very good friend of mine, who is also a big ALPA Comm guy, had an APC guy, one of the original founders on a Jumpseat out of ANC. He stated at Fedex had subpoenaed several times for names.

Have no doubt they know who is who. And as taught by LK, former deputy dawg discipline hunter, they go after people they know they can get.

...and the crying begins in 3, 2, 1...

About???????

Bumpety bump bump bump.

Got to keep this one at the top.

So any new adventures in the MD-11 charter world?

FDX Charters
 

Someone's off to Saudi then onto DXB this weekend :-0

Is that a good deal, or punishment? Don't think I'd be sad about losing that trip!