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-   -   Some questions from a poolie (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/fedex/128549-some-questions-poolie.html)

BLOB 03-30-2020 10:49 AM


Originally Posted by Nightflyer (Post 3016926)
The solution to all of this is a national seniority list.

You are awarded your lifetime seniority number on the day you acquire your ATP.

Now you can change airlines as you please, and would be paid according to your seniority.

This would prevent the airlines from taking advantage of us, we could leave at will if we felt we had a bad contract, and take our seniority elsewhere. In this way, we would be more like free agents, and could sell our skills to the highest bidder.

You can discuss that while I go work.

👎🏿💩👎🏿💩👎🏿💩👎🏿💩
Another suggestion endorsed by the crowd that got hired on an Age 60 timeline, could upgrade under that timeline, now gets to work to 65, will push for 70+ and now wants to go to other companies where the grass is greener and displace guys who get another 5 years as an FO. Won’t happen so not worth discussing but certainly is a “Semper I” idea.

Stan446 03-30-2020 11:00 PM


Originally Posted by fightandflight (Post 3016913)
In my opinion this notion that someone can't have two seniority numbers because it somehow shows they don't "really want to work" at FedEx is wrong. The bottom line is when they made the decision to go to an airline they chose one that happened to furlough them. They earned the job at FedEx and for all we know they will go there, love it, and stay forever. If they happen to get recalled and liked their first choice better, they should have the right to go back to their first choice. It is easy to look at this from the perspective of a FedEx pilot and only want true believers, but are you telling me that if you got furloughed and went to Frontier (for example) and hated it, you wouldn't want the right to go back to the job you earned at FedEx? No need to answer, just a thought experiment that is too easy to answer from the safety of not having to make the decision. They (the furloughed pilot) will always be one person filling one job and just because they got that job in front of someone that may not have even gotten hired anywhere else, that doesn't mean that person really wants to be at FedEx any more than them. By your logic, a furloughed pilot should not get a job ANYWHERE else, because they could be taking that bus driver or plumbing job from someone that "really" wants it. If the furloughed pilot leaves FedEx for another airline, the spot opens for the next person to earn. Bottom line, I understand the compassion in your opinion but I don't think that this is truly an ethical dilemma.

The point is the furloughed guy doesn't want to give up his job. He want's to get hired away from one of the major pax carriers. See if that works, an then when he can get recalled, never giving up his mainline seniority number, stealing a seniority number from his temp worker and basically fing everyone. And figure it out, there are now plumber seniority numbers.

And the dick the the other guy mentality goes on. What if it was you hoping to get a job to support your family while someone else held two spots. Try telling your kids why you have to move because someone holds two jobs.

Nightflyer 03-30-2020 11:23 PM


Originally Posted by BLOB (Post 3017301)
👎🏿💩👎🏿💩👎🏿💩👎🏿💩
Another suggestion endorsed by the crowd that got hired on an Age 60 timeline, could upgrade under that timeline, now gets to work to 65, will push for 70+ and now wants to go to other companies where the grass is greener and displace guys who get another 5 years as an FO. Won’t happen so not worth discussing but certainly is a “Semper I” idea.

Actually, I spent an extra 5 years in the right seat during the age 65 debacle, so you got that wrong.

fightandflight 03-31-2020 05:41 AM


Originally Posted by Stan446 (Post 3018024)
The point is the furloughed guy doesn't want to give up his job. He want's to get hired away from one of the major pax carriers. See if that works, an then when he can get recalled, never giving up his mainline seniority number, stealing a seniority number from his temp worker and basically fing everyone. And figure it out, there are now plumber seniority numbers.

And the dick the the other guy mentality goes on. What if it was you hoping to get a job to support your family while someone else held two spots. Try telling your kids why you have to move because someone holds two jobs.

I guess I still don’t understand the “holding two spots” part. If he is furloughed, he doesn’t really hold a spot that another person could move into. The way I see it, that company won’t hire again until they recall everyone that has been furloughed. On the other hand, if a furloughed pilot returns, the company he left can start hiring immediately to fill that spot, so the fastest way to fill two jobs would be when a furloughed pilot returns to the old job...if they give up that option, the person waiting in the wings now has to wait for the lowest seniority pilot to get recalled to even have a chance. On a large scale, pilots returning from furlough could create more opportunity for a prospective pilot if the companies that furloughed are not looking to plus up manning outside of the recalls. Anyways, not looking to argue, I appreciate your viewpoint and understand why you would feel the way you do.

Adlerdriver 03-31-2020 07:17 AM

I think it boils down to actual intentions. Being furloughed sucks and when I got hired after my furlough from a major, I had absolutely no intention of going back to airline #1. I resigned and they still called when the time came and I told them TBNT. That's reality. I think in the current environment of pilot shortage, it's reasonable to assume that Airline X is still going to try to get their furloughees to come back no matter what letter they send to get hired elsewhere.
If a furloughed pilot comes to FedEx with a reasonable intention of making it a career, that's all one can ask. If they decide when the time comes that their former life suits them better, then it's a business decision.
The only problem I have is with the ones who are simply using FedEx as a placeholder until they can go back to mama. If they know they have no intention of staying, that's a pretty low move. Especially because it's very likely that they will taint the waters for every furloughee who comes after them looking to make a change after they realize the value and stability a cargo career offers when faced with yet another unexpected industry challenge.

Noworkallplay 03-31-2020 08:35 AM


Originally Posted by Adlerdriver (Post 3018310)
I think it boils down to actual intentions. Being furloughed sucks and when I got hired after my furlough from a major, I had absolutely no intention of going back to airline #1. I resigned and they still called when the time came and I told them TBNT. That's reality. I think in the current environment of pilot shortage, it's reasonable to assume that Airline X is still going to try to get their furloughees to come back no matter what letter they send to get hired elsewhere.
If a furloughed pilot comes to FedEx with a reasonable intention of making it a career, that's all one can ask. If they decide when the time comes that their former life suits them better, then it's a business decision.
The only problem I have is with the ones who are simply using FedEx as a placeholder until they can go back to mama. If they know they have no intention of staying, that's a pretty low move. Especially because it's very likely that they will taint the waters for every furloughee who comes after them looking to make a change after they realize the value and stability a cargo career offers when faced with yet another unexpected industry challenge.

Easy fix. Make them have skin in the game. Have them sign an agreement that if they do leave to go back to airline X they pay a certain portion of their training back. Been done many times in this industry. Now both sides have some level of commitment.

Sluggo_63 03-31-2020 08:39 AM


Originally Posted by Adlerdriver (Post 3018310)
I think it boils down to actual intentions. Being furloughed sucks and when I got hired after my furlough from a major, I had absolutely no intention of going back to airline #1. I resigned and they still called when the time came and I told them TBNT. That's reality. I think in the current environment of pilot shortage, it's reasonable to assume that Airline X is still going to try to get their furloughees to come back no matter what letter they send to get hired elsewhere.
If a furloughed pilot comes to FedEx with a reasonable intention of making it a career, that's all one can ask. If they decide when the time comes that their former life suits them better, then it's a business decision.
The only problem I have is with the ones who are simply using FedEx as a placeholder until they can go back to mama. If they know they have no intention of staying, that's a pretty low move. Especially because it's very likely that they will taint the waters for every furloughee who comes after them looking to make a change after they realize the value and stability a cargo career offers when faced with yet another unexpected industry challenge.

But how do you gauge intentions? We lord over the fact that we have all sorts of new hires that have come from passenger airlines. Is that bad? Should they have stayed? When hiring was going like gang busters, and pilots had their choices of airlines to pick from, you'd always hear the "I have CJOs from XXX and YYY, but I really want to work at ZZZ, what should I do?" And what advise is given 99% of the time? "Take the first job offered" and then wait until your "dream job" calls. That's what people are told. Why don't we tell them to wait at home until their absolute number one calls and then go there. Why is it okay for them to take a spot at a placeholder airline while waiting for their #1 then, but not now?

Again, the way to not have new hires leave whether furloughed or not is to have a good enough workplace that they don't want to leave.

Adlerdriver 03-31-2020 08:48 AM


Originally Posted by Sluggo_63 (Post 3018398)
Why is it okay for them to take a spot at a placeholder airline while waiting for their #1 then, but not now? Again, the way to not have new hires leave whether furloughed or not is to have a good enough workplace that they don't want to leave.

I think we're saying the same thing. Of course you can't determine intentions. But if a pilot wants to be at FedEx but gets hired at airline X first, maybe he decides to stay and moves on with his life. However, if events conspire to put him on the street and he ends up at FedEx as part of plan B, I don't see anything wrong with that - As long as he stays. As I said, I see a difference between the guy that's just looking for a paycheck until his first airline calls him back and a guy who genuinely wants to be here now or that had FedEx as his first choice all along. The first guy is going to bail on FedEx when the grass turns back to green at his first airline while the other guy will probably be happier here and stay no matter what because he wouldn't have put us at the top of his list to start with without recognizing the value we're all experiencing yet again within 20 year of the last sh!t storm.

BlueMoon 03-31-2020 09:47 AM


Originally Posted by Noworkallplay (Post 3018390)
Easy fix. Make them have skin in the game. Have them sign an agreement that if they do leave to go back to airline X they pay a certain portion of their training back. Been done many times in this industry. Now both sides have some level of commitment.

No thanks, I worked at a place that had a training agreement like that. There weren’t a whole lot of choices at the time and luckily it worked out, but We want employers to retain employees because it’s a better place to work than the other companies and not because they are holding you financially hostage.

Sluggo_63 03-31-2020 09:54 AM


Originally Posted by Noworkallplay (Post 3018390)
Easy fix. Make them have skin in the game. Have them sign an agreement that if they do leave to go back to airline X they pay a certain portion of their training back. Been done many times in this industry. Now both sides have some level of commitment.

Please don't join the negotiating committee.


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