Only way to know would be to read it

with a Juris Doctorate

It’s so much easier to trust crew scheduling to do the right thing

I'm guessing what you mean is "I don't know, but I feel everyone should read the contract." It comes off as "I know what the contract says, but I'm not going to tell you so go read the contract."

If the contract explicitly said anything about CS calling out RAPs to standby instead of making an effort to staff ready reserve through daily reserve scheduling, then it either wouldn't be a discussion or it wouldn't be happening.

If it's a contract thing, then it's down in the differences in interpretation and pushing words to their denotative limits.

It's not really an interpretation. You don't have to proffer for standby shifts the same way you don't have to proffer for open flights. Some do for a later sign in time while others might proffer for S1 thinking they'll potentially get done earlier. CS can and will try to assign them during the proffering window but if pilots don't confirm or bid them they will default to either a RAP1 or get called at midnight for a RAP2 or an unassigned trip or standby that has ten hours of rest. If S1 or any standby for the that matter doesn't get filled it'll likely go to the junior RAP available during the 2 hour call out window.

So S1 getting insta-assigned to someone on RAP results from a previously S1 assigned pilot declining to confirm their standby the day before?

I can see why you would think that but I was a little ticked that you were saying that you needed a doctorate or whatever to understand the contract. I’m tired of letting guys know they are needlessly getting hosed on simple stuff when it would take one ready reserve shift to read the reserve section of the contract twice. When crew scheduling is desperate they do desperate things, like lie to you. It’s your job to preserve your quality of life. Remember, they know New York is super junior, everyone is on probation, and staffing sucks. Do you think they are always being straight up with you. Don’t be defeatist about your ability to read words. Rant over

Reminder people. If you want a sequence and your second choice is to stay home on reserve but you don’t want 6am ready so you put 2pm ready as a 3rd choice. You will not get the sequence if your not the senior guy but you will get 2pm ready because that’s considered an assignment. Don’t bid for ready reserve unless you want it. Best to bid 2 pm ready on your first set of reserve days so you can hopefully commute in on day one

If you see S1 disappear from from the open time list and then reappear later in the evening it means a pilot bid it or was assigned it but didn't confirm it. If it stayed in open time all day into the evening it likely means no one bid it and CS didn't assign it. In both situations the junior RAP1 is going to get a 0400 wake up call to go sit S1

I've read the contract in its entirety, as well as all the letters ALPA has published, and have even alerted the union to situations where the company is operating in open violation in NYC, but I still don't fully understand every aspect of reserve here. Why can't we just help each other out?

"Hey man, do you want flaps 22 or 45 speeds?"

"Read AOM1."