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The List of 5

Old 03-31-2005, 05:27 AM
  #1  
Realistic
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Default The List of 5

So far we have:
---------------------------------------------------------
1. more job protection
2. scheduling parity
3. pay rates on the 190. (it sucks)
4. ??
5. ??
---------------------------------------------------------
1. Higher BASE Pay
2. Higher BASE Pay
3. Higher BASE Pay
4. Higher BASE Pay
5. Better Benefits - Such as Medical!
----------------------------------------------------------
1. Blend time-and-a-half into straight pay with a 3% bump.
2. Get an HMO.
3. Staff the airline to a level that provides the open time and reserves to meet the goals set in the White Papers. Pilots should have input on a minimum level of open time and reserve coverage.
4. Establish a pilot elected pay and benefits committee - the scheduling committee should not be commenting on pay. The scheduling committee should have term limits to eliminate the featherbedding and cronyism.
5. Take 401K to 6% matching and pay profit sharing as profit sharing - in cash. My retirement should not be dependent on whether or not this industry is doing "well" or not. Profit sharing will still provide incentive and we will have a 401K that approaches what other pilots in this industry enjoy.
 
Old 04-02-2005, 12:39 PM
  #2  
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Mar 2005
Position: A320 FO
Posts: 157
Default

That makes it the list of 125 (5x5x5)

125 different combinations....

FNG

ps. I'd like them to just fix a couple of them....
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Old 05-23-2005, 05:40 PM
  #3  
Realistic
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The survey is on the way.

My suggestion is for all of us to read the questions carefully, make notes, and then compare ideas here before we post our replies.

I believe that this survey will be very telling - for pilots and management. I'm particularly curious about how the questions/choices will be worded.

The most important thing this survey will tell jetBlue each year is what a representation vote might look like and how close we're getting to such a vote.
 
Old 05-23-2005, 10:59 PM
  #4  
jblumindtrick
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While the survey may hint at speculation or allow labor an avenue to vent, one must realize it is a completely "controlled" forum.

Judging from the hits on this board there may be about 150 readers. If all 150 told just 2-4 other pilots and management to view this site before filling out the survey maybe we can start to send a more clear message in the survey as "the collective". While we may have divisions in our ranks, I do think we respect each other enough to take care of each other!

Last edited by jblumindtrick; 05-23-2005 at 11:11 PM.
 
Old 05-25-2005, 09:02 AM
  #5  
bluerthanyou
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I'll just add one:
give us at least SOME growth on the west coast - we see BUR, SAC, SJC, ONT, etc etc etc. even the AMR slots in LGB didn't translate to one single hour of flying we only went backwards
"come on down to BUR to celebrate the newest city in our west coast expansion" great - can't wait to drive all the way to BUR to cover a JFK trip
if jetblue cant even give us 4 or 5 crews a year then we're all dead enders
 
Old 06-15-2005, 03:57 PM
  #6  
jblumindtrick
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The survey is out. Again, just get 2-4 other pilots to fill it out. Whatever your views may be, let us make a strong showing as PILOTS.
 
Old 06-15-2005, 06:48 PM
  #7  
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Mar 2005
Position: A320 FO
Posts: 157
Default Survey areas

Originally Posted by jblumindtrick
The survey is out. Again, just get 2-4 other pilots to fill it out. Whatever your views may be, let us make a strong showing as PILOTS.
In addition, get all your inputs together and put them in a MS word file, then cut/paste them into the survey. That way you are not limitied to the single session. That way you can take your time and get all your thoughts together. Last year the areas were:

Teamwork
Recognition & Growth
Tools & Supplies
Commitment to Customers
Pay & Benefits
JetBlue University
Guidelines
Leadership
Values


Management has said the survey would be the same or very similar as last year to allow for a good comparison.

I would also mark down every area you can so the our "satisfaction" or "dissatisfaction" really shows up. Plus all of the comments. Not that they will listen or do anything. I didn't see a single thing change based on last years survey. Good luck to all of us. We will need it!

Just my opinion.....

FNG


ps. Last year they said you could cut/paste also, but the rightclick and paste function were disabled. However you could cut/paste by using the CNTL-V key combination to paste in your text. Good luck.
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Old 06-21-2005, 12:17 PM
  #8  
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Position: A320 Capt
Posts: 14
Default Survey Notes

Guys,

This is a very rough draft, but I would really appreciate feedback. I am definitely in the cup half-full mode, but after talking with several of our Values Committee brethren, they are asking us to really speak our minds this year to give them support in getting things done. Please pardon the length, but I wanted to put a lot down to get more feedback.

Pay

Pay is getting further and further out of line from where it should be. We do not need a large pay increase for the 320, but we need to stop losing pay due to benefits changes and cost of living increases. We are taking pay cuts due to increased benefits costs, especially with the increase in medical insurance costs. We are losing buying power due to cost of living increases that are not being matched in any way. The leadership at jetBlue is telling us that this is a high priority (re: letter from Pete Russo “49ResponseToPilots.doc”) but absolutely nothing is actually being done.

1. Pay is still way too low for FO’s beyond 2 years. It is completely out of line per industry standards and is also even more unreasonable given the fact that upgrades are taking longer and longer. Previously, we were told that it didn’t matter since we upgraded so quickly and since upgrades happened in less than 2 years, which held some validity. That is no longer is true. We now have professional pilots with families to support that are having financial difficulty as their spending power decreases without a cost of living pay increase while the amount of selling by insider traders continues to increase so that executives at jetBlue (other than David Neeleman) have increased their pay dramatically. It is especially difficult to listen to Al Spain talk to us about how he “has plenty of applications on file if we don’t want to work here” during annual training when he is the highest paid employee at jetBlue according to the annual report.

2. The 190 pay scale, especially for FO’s is unreasonable and insulting. The IFC’s will be making more than the FO’s. If it is not an RJ, than don’t pay RJ wages. Is it reasonable that Al Spain spends twice a 190 FO’s annual wages in his expense account this last year? I don’t think so.

3. Stop comparing our wages to other companies using a blended pay scale and assuming 85 hours per month. Go back and look at the average hours per month that is actually paid per pilot and it will show a lower number of hours credited to the line pilot that is closer to 81 hours per month. Those numbers also don’t reflect those which have training or vacation time which hurts the take home pay for that month. Twice a year we have training that prevents flying as much and if we take vacation time twice a year that makes it four months a year that we are unable to average 85 hours of pay. We have to take a pay cut to take vacation time at jetBlue and that is unfair and this is the only company I am aware of in the country that has a policy that results in that impact on its people.

4. Increase the 401k matching amount to come more in line with what SWA or other airlines without a pension plan offer.

5. Stop giving out small trinkets such as snow globes and cheap jackets to us unless it is being paid for out of the personal funds of Al Spain. I would much rather the company spend the money on things that will help us better deal with IROPs or improve our health benefits. That would be much more motivational for us to continue going the extra mile for jetBlue.

Healthcare

1. Our company provided health care plan is not acceptable. As an individual, I can negotiate cheaper and better coverage. We were told in initial training that the benefits would improve and the cost would decrease as we grew from being a small company and the exact opposite has occurred.

2. jetBlue needs to publish the data on how many pilots have opted out from using jetBlue medical coverage and the reason why. I would wager that anyone that has another means of getting coverage, whether through a spouse that is working or through military benefits has done so. They are not being reimbursed by jetBlue for not using jetBlue insurance which is saving the company even more money. jetBlue should have an “Opt Out” option for those choosing to use other medical coverage and allowing them to use the money that jetBlue would have had to spend on their health care coverage if they had chosen jetBlue’s coverage to pay for their personal medical coverage.

3. One year ago, during a pocket session about the pilot contract, Vinnie Stabile promised that he would send out a white paper detailing our coverage under short and long term disability coverage. One of the specific question related to if we were covered if the disability prevent us from acting as a pilot, but did not make us disabled in the eyes of the Social Security Administration. Although this has been asked about several times since then, nothing has been forthcoming.

Parking

1. A lot of people have expressed their concern about our current parking lot and although it is said that it is a “top concern” in pocket sessions, nothing has changed to make the problems better. It is unreasonable to expect people to show up in the parking lot one hour prior to ensure that that make their show time. It is not safe to have us park in an area with multiple holes in the fencing, where a shuttle bus just sits there and will not shuttle employees across a street with traffic traveling at high speeds, and there are inadequate guards that do not actually roam the parking lot.

2. The persistent rumors of moving the parking to Aqueduct Race Track and then to ride a bus to the Airtrain appear to be coming true. When George Sauer was recently riding in the jumpseat on a flight and he was asked specifically about the issue he said that it is out of the company’s hands and up to the Port Authority. That is an unacceptable answer. We have to care more about our people than that. I would suggest that we hire our own shuttle bus drivers, but then we would most probably be paying them more than the 190 FO’s would be paid.

Communication

1. jetBlue is more and more becoming a company that runs on rumor and innuendo versus facts and open, honest communication. There are numerous examples, but I will only use a couple to illustrate the point. We had a plane land at McGuire AFB due to low fuel. Nothing has ever been put out by anyone officially at jetBlue to address the incident so that it can be avoided in the future. Another was when an aircraft shut down an engine on takeoff out of Oakland and then air aborted back into OAK. Nothing has been put out to address what happened and if there were any lessons learned from the incident.

2. I have heard through numerous rumors of a Captain that locked his FO out of the cockpit to have sexual relations with an IFC. If that is true, they both should have been fired, not just the Captain. There is also the rumor of a pilot showing up 10 minutes prior to official show time and being notified of the requirement of a drug test. He supposedly left and then called in sick. If this is true, why is this person still working at jetBlue? The list goes on. I completely understand that it is difficult to discuss when someone is terminated, but if it is not done, the damage done to the company through the rumors is horrible and could be overcome through taking the time to sanitize the personal information and then give at least some information out so people know that if they violate company values, they will be terminated.

3. We are now hearing through emails from our values committee that they have had discussions with senior leadership at jetBlue about “our” concerns. Nothing has divulged what “our” concerns were. No one was able to ask me what my concerns were because the Values Committee is not allowed to communicate with all of us privately. Not one thing has been said about the answers to “our” concerns. Instead, we as line pilots have to hear what is happening through rumor and innuendo. We need to have a separate website that allows the Values Committee to have unfettered and anonymous communication with all of the pilots at jetBlue.

4. This is my third survey to be filled out. The last two years survey results have not been released in their entirety and they certainly have not been adequately addressed. Each year, we have been promised that “this year we will provide feedback during the year on how we are addressing concerns from the survey.” The reality is that we have just received a document from the chief pilot as we are starting to fill out this year’s survey. That document is replete with statements such as “this issue is a high priority and we will be conducting ongoing research and an education program.” That is not a valid reply one to two years after the issue has been raised. The raw data, which should already be sterilized of identifying information, should be released to the pilot group in its entirety. Monthly, or at a minimum, quarterly updates should be provided to the pilot group where an issue is updated or closed out, or better yet, solved.

Last edited by nospin; 06-21-2005 at 04:59 PM. Reason: grammer
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Old 06-21-2005, 12:18 PM
  #9  
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Joined APC: Jun 2005
Position: A320 Capt
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Default Survey Notes Part II

Training

1. Training at jetBlue University is being pushed more and more for us to do during our free time. If we are going to be asked to do training that is required for our job, we should be paid for the time that we are supposed to be working and doing that training. Training via email is not a long term solution.

2. The one hundred questions that came out for our annual training was a good idea. It should provide a great source to prepare for PT’s and PC’s as well and day to day studying. Unfortunately, the question bank is constantly being edited and those of us who have already completed training are not being notified of the changes in the questions. The answers are being changed and if you do not have the update, we are studying outdated material.

Standards

1. I think it is inappropriate that our standards department does not do trend analysis on PC’s, line checks, or on IOE. We as a pilot group need accurate trend data on where our weak areas are and what we are doing well in. We should have an accurate idea of exactly how many people have had areas graded as less than qualified on a check ride. That information would allow us as a pilot group to be aware of our weak areas and then work to improve them. It seems totally unprofessional for us to not have that information.

2. I have recently flown with a lot our check airman and it troubles me to hear one of them say that he was told to take a month or two off from being a check airman, but was not given feedback on what specifically he did to cause him to need to take a “break” from being a check airman. If someone is not doing what the company wants them to do, open and honest feedback is necessary to give them a chance to change.

Flight Scheduling

1. The scheduling guide has more impact on the daily quality of life of jetBlue pilots and inflight crewmembers than any other document at jetBlue. It is continually being modified without jetBlue pilots or IFC’s value committee involvement. That has to stop. It is important that the one elected group of pilots at our company have a voice in the changes. Some of the recent changes, such as requiring pilots to accept trips that are less desirable when their trip was taken by a management pilot or to have to sit reserve during that time are unacceptable. If the management pilot needs landing currency so badly or wants to just help out the line pilots, they can take the other trip or sit reserve.

2. The concept of virtual bases sounds good on first blush, but in fact it will have tremendous negative impact on many more crewmembers than it will help. If a system like that is to be set up at all, just help facilitate swapping legs of trips in or out of a jetBlue city with other crewmembers that live in that city, but do not hurt the pairings of all JFK just to help 50 or so crewmembers that live in one jetBlue city.

3. Last year we were promised that this summer would be different and we would still be able to take some PTO. The upgrades to Captain have slowed to a trickle and here we go again for the third straight summer that I have been with jetBlue. The Captains at JFK had 98% of their PTO requests for July denied due to reserve coverage.

4. The reserve system for pilots is horrible. The talk of doing things to make it better is just that. It is talk. A poll of just those pilots on reserve needs to be taken to discover the actual problems with the system.

5. The crew scheduling software needs to be upgraded to handle the size increase of jetBlue. Jeanny Patterson revealed in a pocket session that our software was not designed to handle an airline of our size. She also said that when a crew was removed from a pairing during an IROP, they just fell out of the system and that they had no easy way to keep track of them and their remaining duty day available. Al Spain is supposed to be doing strategic thinking for the operations of the airline as the Senior VP of Operations. How is it possible that this problem has gotten to that point without something being done? Either he asked for improvements to the software long ago when we knew we were going to pass the capacity of the software or he has been a cause of the problems that we are now experiencing.

Leadership

1. Please help us understand how we can remain small as we grow if the leadership of the company at the senior-middle level is becoming so isolated from the employees. I don’t know how a senior leader such as Dave Bushy could push so hard for Bonnie Simi to be in a leadership position when she has so much distrust amongst the line pilots. If Dave Bushy really knew how much distrust there was and pushed her anyway, that is poor leadership unless he is able to mitigate the distrust through facts. If he was unaware of the level of distrust, then that certainly reflects a lack of understanding of the people he is responsible for.

I have not had a personal experience that causes me to have to have the level of distrust of Bonnie Simi that exists with most of our pilots, but I have made almost a dozen phone calls to friends at United and also spoken with the JFK assistant chief pilot for United about Bonnie and I have not been able to find one person that has positive impression of her from the time that they spent with her. I asked each of them to not tell me any rumors, but the reality is that when there is that much negative feedback, there has to be some truth to the problem that is now reflected in the feelings here at jetBlue.

Last edited by nospin; 06-21-2005 at 05:26 PM.
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Old 06-21-2005, 12:42 PM
  #10  
automatique
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Default Nice job

Very nice, Nospin!
Unfortunately, I think we are just talking to ourselves...
 
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