I would say that sideshow hit the nail on the head. The majority agreed to a concessionary contract. We did the best we could, which in my opinion is pathetic. In a union with a bunch of clowns. ALCA, Air Line Clowns Association.

 

Would you mind sharing your (bidding??) secret??

 

Dewds that boast about "their" unbelievable high pay and too good to be true schedule.....usually are........well.......unbelievable and to good to be true.

 

No one argues (your point) that Fedex pilots are the weak link in labor relations. But that wasn't the point of my response.

So again I ask, When is the mighty strength of the IPA going to get put to good use, or are we destined to (again!! ) hear the incessant whine how we undermined your efforts?

 

Honestly Albeif? I wouldn't be too proud. In the litany of FedEx contributions, "we have put dues dollars to work......", not listed was the IPA shouldering the fight for 117. The IPA could have used FedEx/ALPA support in the law suit the IPA is now shouldering alone. Fred/ALPA did not want to be part of that fight. And so it was spoken........and of course came to pass.

I think the main difference...the rub if you will...is that at the IPA, we stand together and take on the 900 pound gorilla as best we can. That would be a litany of bullet statements taking pages to include death threats to union officials in getting the IPA started. That was just the beginning. The FedEx pilot group as a whole, by contrast, continually takes what Fred ordains. And while we were hoping that the FedEx pilot group would come together and finally wake up that times are changing, they didn't. And signed that more or less concessionary contract. Honestly, I do not view the FedEx pilot group as a unified group willing to stand up for themselves.

And the further, "rub", is that all the while, the FedEx pilot group might as well be wearing double breasted blazers. Most will get the inference I refer to; believing the elite has been defined. As reality passes them by.

True story:

In OAK probably 2 years ago. UPS calls for taxi and receives taxi clearance. Approaching the shared throat of the ramp, FedEx calls for taxi. Ground says, "FedEx, follow UPS taxi to runway........."

FedEx response, "FedEx will NEVER follow UPS. Taxi to runway......give way to UPS........." Stated with the combination of superiority, disdain, and as dismissive as can be. Insert the fairy tale evil witch of your choice to capture the tone.

The now completely flummoxed ground controller, "uh...yes...uh.....FedEx cleared to taxi to runway........UPS......give way to FedEx". And FedEx....unbelievably.......goes first to the runway. And UPS follows. I was the captain on the UPS flight involved, and professionally asked for the FedEx callsign. Noted the date, time and location, and contacted our professional standards to deal with it. And yet, somehow, you get the impression that the FedEx crew (probably the captain), smugly smiled at his coup. Totally oblivious of the continued arrogance displayed.

This goes further to the root of the problem. Coattails of overwhelming past benevolence does not insure that today is like the 80's and 90's. This contract was a milestone in the FedEx group actually standing together and saying NO to the whims of Fred. And the bar titched just that little bit unperceptively lower. The chance......has come and gone. And peak is around the corner.

The NURP issue was mentioned a few times. I think, again, the difference is that we at least stand together and fight for what against that abomination. The NURP dysfunction is a deeply held (whacky) concept held by the company. It's goes to the core of their (whacky) belief that they must fight with their labor. That they need some sort of tool that the rest of the world scratches their head on saying, "What??? I've never heard of such a system....is that even legal in a closed shop union??" And that's UPS. Whacky.

It doesn't mean we win....but we do continue to fight. We don't just reply, "how high?"

Being unified doesn't insure a win at every battle. But the unified battle must be fought again and again. Every day is another day of contract negotiations at UPS. Do the FedEx pilots even have a dim glimmer of understanding at the depth of meaning in that statement? What that really encompasses? It's a big reality here at UPS.......daily. "No Waivers, No Favors". A mantra repeated and practiced over and over.

You would be wrong to infer that UPS pilots hate coming to work. We don't. No different than any other airline in the proper professional work attitude while on the job. And would never entertain the notion of, "We will NEVER follow........." on ATC. I wonder what that FedEx captain's professional work attitude was that night.

 

Not at all. It's pretty much what many junior people do to improve their lives, one positive that we can have at FedEx. If a trip is ugly and I can't do better, I drop it or give it away (though that will be impossible to do in December). I'll even drop an entire month, and take the chance I might not get anything decent, but some months I fly a fair amount, some months I fly very little---I fly when the trips are good.

I trip trade my a$$ off, both with open time and other people. I get up early in the morning to swap for the decent sick time trips. I bid a long reserve string twice a year to knock it out with training and get the view/add window trips. It's a pain in the butt to be tied to a computer and to not know if I'll get paid 20 hours or 90 hours in a month, but so far, it's worth it. You can do this on the Airbus, but I don't know if it's possible on the others.

Some people may consider this bragging, others may consider it pathetic. It works for me, and its nice to have this option. Of course, there are people with much better trip trading skills than I. If anybody else wants to share their secrets, I'm all ears.

 

I don't think that pilots at FedEx consider 300K at FedEx as unbelievably high pay or boasting. More like pretty average for widebody captains, low for 777 captains. I'd gather our paychecks are probably the same or lower overall than at UPS.

 

9days x 6hrs x 12months x 260 does not equal $300,000.

And, the rest of the story...?

 

Sorry, but as one who bids QOL over $$... and given the fact you said you were including DHs... this was my exact thought too

???

Thx again for sharing how it's done in 9 days per month

Weekend layovers at home you're not counting??

 

My W-2 includes more than days actually worked. It includes what I get paid for vacation, days that I was sick (I'm not saving mine), days that I was bumped, days where they paid me 150% because my trip got extended, full pay for longer trips that were revised to shorter ones, extra duty periods. You get the idea. I'm guessing that your W-2's includes the same?

Anyways, my point really is that when people look at what we've been discussing about the TA on this forum, they could come to the conclusion that we accepted something just terrible. The weak FedEx pilot group, just quaking out of fear, voted in the worst contract ever (by the way 57/43 is not an overwhelming majority). I'm uncomfortable with some of the contract language, the possibilities, however I don't think people understand in plain terms what our situation actually is.

I've been reading some of the Delta and SW TA forums, and it would be very interesting to me to understand exactly what people do for their pay. How much do they work, what do they get paid, commuting situations, flexibility in scheduling, forced relocation or excess. The big things. Someone can make an eye opening salary, but if they have to fly 5 legs a day, 25 days a month, then that is very informative.