BiffleBalls

I've heard of a few pilots being "reassigned" because they are not following the contract. A couple pilots answered their phones and were reassigned during a time for which they are not obligated to be available. Nowhere in the contract does it say you have to carry a cell phone. All that is about to change with these new Ipads with cellular connectivity - A Brave New World. I don't think the union has been clear enough about this, and many pilots that transition from reserve to holding a line seem to have the "reserve mentality" when it comes to answering their cell phones.

biigD

Damned right! Not Frontier but that doesn't matter- not picking up the phone is Airline Pilot 101. Even on reserve you should let it go to VM, which gives you the time to take a look at the assignment and make sure it's Kosher before calling them back.

brocklee9000

Would you be willing to list some of these examples? I’ll dig more into the cba when training is over, but I like to be mindful of this kind of stuff. Coming from a regional where electronic notification (ACARS, email, acknowledging a schedule change online, etc) weren’t “legal” but if you accepted it then you were on the hook. Phone was still the only technically-correct way, reserve or line holder. They tried to make EFB notifications a thing, but that contract didn’t even make it to a vote thankfully.

Anyway, anyone have a cheat sheet of ways they “try to get you” that we should be aware of? Even Skywest’s not-a-union had a couple guides for new hires/new on reserve, with a lot of the grey areas or “not really a rule but scheduling will treat this as such”.

monkeybrains

Reassignment Notifications – CBA Sec 25.A
It has come to the MEC’s attention that Crew Scheduling and the Chief Pilot’s Office are incorrectly utilizing a CBA section not yet in effect, to claim that pilots are improperly failing to respond to phone calls from the company. Pilots’ schedules are being labeled with the code UTC (unable to contact), and Base Chief Pilots are contacting these pilots for “fireside chats” as a first step in the disciplinary process.
Pilots are wondering if availability and schedule change notification requirements while flying a trip have changed.
The answer is NO; notifications of schedule modifications and pilots’ responsibilities have not changed. ALPA has informed management that the CPO should remove these UTCs from pilots’ schedules immediately and that they should refrain from placing UTCs on pilots’ schedules based upon this misapplication of Sec 25.A.
This conclusion is based on LOA 1, which is the agreement between the company and ALPA that defines the timelines and requirements for contract implementation. The LOA states that CBA Sec 25.A.4.b which when implemented will contain the availability and time requirements for pilots to respond to notifications from crew scheduling, will not be implemented until a means of electronic self-notification is available. Please note that LOA 19 changed paragraph numbering slightly so the relevant section 25.A.4.b was renumbered as 25.A.3.b.
Although ALPA has been informed that an electronic notification tool is in development and has been invited to participate in beta testing pre-deployment, this tool has not yet been launched or implemented by the Company. Furthermore, pilots are reminded that use of any electronic self-notification app will be at a pilot’s discretion when it becomes available.

CBA excerpts won’t copy.

We strongly encourage pilots to familiarize themselves with these CBA provisions should Crew Scheduling attempt to initiate a reassignment. As always, it is every pilot’s responsibility to know the contract and ensure that the company complies with it. If you have any questions or believe that you have been improperly reassigned, please send a DART.

seems pretty clear

BiffleBalls

Yes we do need a cheat sheet or something for new pilots (and others) explaining this clearly, you are absolutely correct. Crew scheduling has to make Positive Telephone Contact to change our schedules. If our phone falls down the crack between the floor of the hotel and the elevator do we then have to check our messages constantly and call crew scheduling back while on duty if our flight cancels? That one I wonder about. With the "electronic notification" (for the upcoming app for the Ipads which then effectively become dog leashes) language mixed in to the CBA things get murky. The way I read it is that you need to answer your phone during a duty period or (obviously) a reserve period. Outside of that - again the way I read the contract - you are not obligated to pick up the phone. Please someone correct me if I've got this wrong. I've studied the CBA and the ALPA emails about this that were sent out before many of you were even hired, and this is what I can glean from it all.

BiffleBalls

Alright, then write it out is if you were explaining it to a new hire who dropped his phone down the crack between the hotel floor and the elevator - lineholder. What are his obligations if his flight is cancelled? I read that email, the other one, the CBA..

monkeybrains

Perfect, why don’t you do just that, you certainly seem to have plenty of time judging by how much you post on APC. alpa just sent out an email looking for volunteers.

DumboDrop

It like they are completely making things up now.

BiffleBalls

Well I applaud you for bringing up volunteering for the union, it's something many should do. I have considered that and will be volunteering when certain areas of my life can begin to manage themselves. One thing the union CAN'T do is post here, and a lot of good does come from raising issues in this forum.
I can't answer that question, that's why I posted it as a challenge to the lazy f'n copy paste job that was dumped further up this thread.
Now I challenge you to answer that question. Do it. I triple dog dare ya.

fcoolaiddrinker

Let’s start to narrow it down a bit because there is no one answer to your question. Are you in a domicile or outstation when you lose your phone? At that point go into the reassignment language and follow the bouncing ball. If you’re at an outstation and want to get back to a domicile you’re probably going to want to return the call assuming it’s contractually compliant. If you’re in a domicile, without looking it up, I believe it’s one hr to reassign you to a flight that departs within three hrs or your done. So if the message they leave you complies with that provision I’m going to go ahead and call back. But again I’m not answering the phone and listening to the message first.

Also there’s contractual times when they can do these reassignments so you’ll want to make sure that’s complied with as well or maybe I’m not even going to call back depending on what they say.

Now if you really did lose your phone there’s other ways to communicate with company. I wouldn’t recommend acars. And like what was mentioned already the app, when available, is pilots discretion.