I've always hated that type of argument as well, and it's not my argument now. It is just a recitation of history and how we got here.

OK, I'm glad you don't disagree with that portion of our history. But while it made sense for management to want it back then, it made much more sense for ALPA to fight for productivity based pay...and we ultimately won that argument. We won it (in my view) because you cannot defend a position whereby you want pay that is NOT based upon your productivity to the company. Ultimately, that argument is always a loser.

Carl

 

PAY BANDING:

I remember reading a statement regarding staffing and pay banding. Does pay banding reduce manning needs?

I am ok with pay banding as long as it does not effect our manning in a negative way. If it reduces our head count, forget about it.(I would rather fly domestic when I am 70 )

TEN

 

Just wanted to vent somewhere, so here it is... &*#^$* scheduling called me twice in the middle of the night! Is that against our contract at all? They called me at 2:15 am from a restricted number and left a voicemail, and again at 6 am from the normal number and left a voicemail for a trip that starts at 3:15. That is so inappropriate to wake me up twice in the middle of the night for something I wasn't contractually required to acknowledge until noon! Argh....

 

Where u on long-call, short-call, line holder? If Im not on call, my phone is off. Delta only has one number for me too. What is the scenario?

Inverse assignment, maybe?

Ten

 

Again, you are assuming that they would replace something like a bunch of -88s with a 747. And you even contradict yourself by saying that management could do that, but passengers want more frequency. They will book away if we only have one flight/day and another carrier has 5 or 6.. so that productivity is lost.. doesn't make business sense to upgauge for that reason.

Second paragraph. If management buys more widebodies simply because of our payrates, then we have no argument that our pay does little to affect the bottom line of the business more than we or management will acknowledge. (I am basing this on the fact that I have read many many many times that "we could work for free and it wouldn't save the company", blah blah blah) And if they buy more widebodies because our payrates are lower, then that's a good thing, because they will STILL be paid at the top of the food chain... I say, bring 'em on. But you are still holding onto the old way of thinking... The 707 was a replacement for DC-6s and other prop driven airplanes.. Hardly a germane argument to this discussion.

 

PLEASE.. explain this to me.. I still do not get it.

 

8:30am flight has 10 open in first & 15 open in the back for 25 open seats. There are 15 total non revs to include 2 buddy pass riders.

9:49am flight has 6 open in first & 15 open in the back for 21 open seats. 2 non revs listed to include 1 buddy pass rider.

Looks like you should make both flights.

 

757/767 is a common cockpit, therefore I don't see that as "banded" JMHO. that leaves the 747/777.. a whopping 3% of the fleet...

 

Because management isn't the one blamed for THEIR decisions on how to schedule and what airframes to buy. Unions are the ones who get blamed for being afraid of productivity. It's a patently unfair characterization, but it's the truth of how unions are portrayed.

Absolutely correct.

But we do have control over our scheduling. Our cave in on scheduling rules (both fNW and fDL) is the "control" we gave away. I remember being in a meeting in NRT when a pilot asked some management puke why we do these 3 and 4 hour sit arounds. The management puke responded: "Because your contract allows me to."

I AM a proponent of it for my own personal situation. That would be best for me from a QOL basis. The argument is whether we really want to go down this road where WE will again be tarnished with the stain of being "afraid to be productive". Add to that my concern that it may incentivize management to buy bigger and bigger airplanes...which would require fewer and fewer pilots, and that really makes me concerned.

Carl

 

I'm fairly certain they can only call you once, after that it's an interruption of rest.