I know I got one two weeks ago...:rolleyes:

It had been more than our contractually allowed 15 days between my Sick call my Well call. Not 15 days of flying mind you, but 15 calandar days between sick and well. Only because I forgot to call in well until the day before my next trip.

About about 24 hours after I did call in well, I got a phone call from the ATL CPO, telling me that per the Contract, I would need to provide a Doctor's Note, since I was out sick for more than 15 days. If I had remembered about the requirement to provide a note, I could have called in well a couple days earlier and stayed below the 15 day limit.

So, all you Sicko's out there, be sure to mark your calandar the day you call in sick, then count forward 15 days, and mark that day. If you don't call in well prior to that day, you WILL get a call and you must provide a Doctor's Note. And there is a link on the DLNET page for you to print out the Sick Form they want you to have filled out by your doctor, so print it BEFORE you go see the doctor.

Herk,

You ignored my questions. I'm not trying to be a smart a**, but if there's "leverage" that I'm not seeing here, I'd like to hear about it. And then let's use it again and again.

1. Do you honestly think DALPA forced management's hand here?

2. Please tell me what leverage they used?

We'll just have to agree to disagree on the PRP/ROPE issue. If DAL gets behind the ball on keeping up with hiring/attrition, we could be in the same position again. You say it was the "absolute right thing" to do. I say it was the absolute wrong thing as it sets a bad precedent.

Here's more info on what is driving the CPO to call you sick puppies...

Seems some numbers wonk told RA that the Delta Pilot Group uses, on average, DOUBLE the "Industry Average" of sick days/hours/what have you. RA put out the word to the CP's to crack down on Sick Leave Abuse!!

The CP's found that "Double the Industry Average" thing a little hard to believe, so they did some research (what a concept!).

Turns out the other carriers used in the Industry Average all PAY their pilots their unused sick hours/days at the end of the year, or they can bank it and roll it over to the next year, and save it for a really rainy day, or an early retirement, like NWA used to be able to.

The CP told me, "Well of course if you give the pilot's an INCENTIVE to NOT use sick leave, they are not going to use as much, as a pilot group with a 'use it or lose it' type sick leave policy."

So...there you have it. RA thinks we use twice the Industry Average in sick leave, because some numbers geek who only looked at one metric said so, it must be true.

Using his rationale, we are operating the 88 category under staffing without cancelling any flights. Our contractual minimums are actually very important. Now that we are not over-staffed anymore, we are going to drop every category down to the minimum and hire as little as possible. BTW, 300 is still the only official number I have heard for new hires in 2014 and as far as I know, that includes recalls.

That is anecdotal. It not admissible in the court of TL&G :D


Timbo has contradicting evidence.


Provide facts with numbers to verify your unsubstantiated claim. Otherwise it is just hearsay at best.

Just because you weren't getting the call, doesn't mean that they weren't happening. ;) You are one pilot in a group of 11,000 plus.

OK. If its a joke it is a good example.

Scoop :)

Ok. I will. :) From the implementation of the new sick policy through the beginning of the August MEC meeting(2.5 months)there were 32(or 37) calls made on a "Good Faith" basis. One month after the amount of calls received via a good faith basis was less than 5.

Timbo,

Thanks for the information.

Pardon the vent ... but since we are on the topic. Our management does not seem to appreciate that flying is a little different job than the position they hold, with different sorts of responsibilities. Mr. Bastian might be able to come in the day after surgery, but are the decisions he makes nearly instantly irreversible with bent metal, a deviation, or a life in the balance?

Unlike manning a desk, there isn't a " <--- Backspace" on any airplane I've ever seen. Further, I don't know how many back to back all nighters Ed works which leave him in places where there is no place to eat, or if he shares a workspace with another executive seated 40 inches off his shoulder for 8 to 10 hours at a time. If he's a little under the weather and out of it he might say "uhm" more than normal while delivering a presentation. Perhaps he should consider that briefings are just a presentation while under motion, while operating machinery, reading AWABS, while talking to ATC getting clearances, running checklists, starting engines and talking to flight attendants ... mostly semi-simultaneously. They say humans don't multi task well ... how about a human with a head cold?

Further, do our executives obtain a medical for ongoing certification in their jobs?

IMHO, they fail to make a fair comparison. IMHO more pilots fly when they should not than sick out when they should fly (& maybe I'm a survey of one).

Technically Timbo, that's not a call made on a "Good Faith" basis. You received a call based on Sec 14.F.3.b, which gives us the 2 circumstances in which verification is required.

Verification of sickness under Section 14 F. 2. is required when:

a) a pilot has used more than 100 hours of unverified sick leave in a sick leave year, or

b) a pilot has been absent on a single sick occurrence for 15 or more consecutive days.

Good Faith is covered under Sec 14 F 4. Not trying to be a smart guy. Just clarifying the contract. :o