It's already non compliant with contract. Calling someone with auto dialer is not same as assigned an IA. But whatever. Union and company aren't enforcing anything yet still whining about deal making and 23m7

 

The IA thing has been like that for 20+ years . At the time, the union probably thought people being proffered flying at a premium was way better than getting met at the gate and being told you were flying the next day, and that it was a pretty good improvement they didn’t have to spend any capital on.

 

This. The company also completed the GS step so seniority was honored. A true IA wasn’t a reward for being junior. It was a punishment.

 

Sounds to me like they just need to come up with a proper term and step of coverage for this

Call it whoever gets through first gets a premium trip.

Not inverse assignment to the most junior pilot who is forced to fly it. It may have been like that for 20 years but it still isn't correct and should be fixed. Sign another MOU that we don't get a chance to voice an opinion or vote on to do it.

 

The way I see it, there are three "versions" of IAs--two of them acceptable and the third (unfortunately what is almost all of them these days) unacceptable.

1. The "old school" where you were truly being forced to fly something on off days when you had no slips in, such as the example where a gate agent meets the plane after the last leg of a trip, and tells one of the pilots "guess what, you have been assigned this one day trip tomorrow, that you didn't want to fly." Double pay was a way of easing the pain of a forced assignment.

2. Major IROPS, pages of GS, in base, out of base, GS #2, etc. After all the GS volunteers have truly accepted whatever GS opportunities they could, yet there are still a few trips left in open time, the company then robocalls any pilot eligible to fly these few trips, and perhaps one or two pick up the phone and say "I hadn't even thought of flying a trip for premium pay, but what the heck I'll answer the call and fly one." In other words, the occasional IA, amid lots and lots of GS, is appropriate.

3. The current Hunger Games/23.M.7/Auto Accept (partially driven) free for all. It truly is an abysmal situation we have here. QS will fix a lot of this, I hope.

 

Correct and because it’s called “inverse assignment,” we have junior pilots that think they are entitled to the premium trips first. They are ignoring the fact that the company is skipping the entire trip coverage ladder.

I heard a rumor that the company made $100 million in 23.M.7 payments in December alone. I remember the company getting angry because it thought the pilot group was abusing sick leave by $42 million per yer. This is shaping up to be $1.2 billion per yer. My prediction is we get a contract 6 months early because the company needs this fixed ASAP.

 

To do what you would suggest would actually be a simple thing. The final step of the coverage ladder (aka IA) reads:

"Available qualified pilots (in position, in inverse seniority order)"

Which could be changed to

"Available qualified pilots (in position)"

Which is essentially how it's currently being used. Seniority doesn't have anything to do with the current use of IA. Which is a problem that QS hopes to alleviate, at least somewhat.

 

We have QS which fixes the problem. Absolutely no to changing IA language

 

So positive space commuting is an easy win. So is no more GFB. Probably get all sick hours are paid either as used or at end of sick year. We finally got them by the cojones, time to squeeze! Add more vacation, make APD drops paid, make it rain!

 

Heard the same, from a still-connected former CS supervisor? I’m not sure we get a contract 2-3 months after openers. But it is definitely positive pressure on the company not to drag this out. Huge, huge piece of leverage.

100%.