Guard - Reserve Code of Conduct
 

This week I learned about the efforts of A4A (Airlines for America, formerly Airline Transport Association [ATA]). They are now pushing for DoD to impose a "Guard & Reserve Code of Conduct" for their members to abrogate some of the protections afforded them by USERRA. They want the leadership to publish guidelines that suggest that certain practices that the airlines find irksome are unethical.

Despite their claim that they are all about safety, make no mistake, A4A is an industry lobby designed to maximize member airlines profit at the expense of your compensation, quality of life and safety. They are asking for things like giving your employer an entire year's worth of training schedule at a time, even though they are highly flexible and subject to change. You would loose big chunks of flying if your unit changed it's drill weekend.

I highly recommend that any of you who have Guard or Reserve affiliation, join and be active in your associations (ROA, NGAUS, State Association). Guard and Reserve members face enough hardship without interest groups bribing DoD leadership to whip their workers for them.

If you are at an ALPA carrier or Southwest, I suggest that you encourage your union leadership to join in efforts with the Coalition of Airline Pilot Associations (CAPA - Home | Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations).

How in the world would they expect someone in a flying squadron to give a year notice? A month notice is probably the reasonable MAX. Orders cancel, especially with the budget issues.

I bet what they are trying to stop is pilots that get hired at an airline, complete training, then disappear until they are off first year pay and can hold a line while bumming in the guard/reserves.

I know that pizzes them off to no end, and I can't really blame them. It pizzes off civilian pilots who have to suck up that pilot's juniority while he's away dodging reserve and first year pay...especially since "that guy" usually brags about it to no end when he gets back. That last is not always the reality but it is often enough.

While I might be inclined to encourage people on an individual basis to avoid that practice, there's no way to give managers a legal tool with any sort of remote assurance that it would not be abused...in fact I'm highly confidant that it would be abused.

This needs to be defeated. The good news is that the airlines are probably the only business sector which really stands to benefit...the rest of corporate america will probably not want to go on record opposing military reservists for whatever slim benefit they might get.

I would advocate DoD issuing some guidance to commanding officers to help them balance needs of the service and the member vs. relations with the business community. Remember it's not ALL about that one dude who doesn't want to live on first year pay...his actions affect all the rest of us as well. Something to think about.

Thanks for the heads up!

So the moral of the story is, "get rid of first year pay" and the airlines won't have this problem.

Yeah. If first year pay was 90% of 2nd year pay, I don't think you'd see as much of this.

Quick survey of the Legacy/Large LCC show about the following split (with airframes guys can reasonably expect to get.. Doubt many will hold 747 year 1)

Carrier 1st/2nd 1st as a percentage of 2nd year pay
Alaska 53/83 63.8%
American 75/112 66.9%
Delta 70/100 70%
United 68/101 67.3%
HAL 36/79 45.5%
SWA 57/97 58.7%
JetBlue 49/80 61.2%

If I was hired at HAL or JetBlue, I would not be able to pay my bills on first year pay. I could probably scrape by at SWA or Alaska. But I'd make a lot more and not be eating Ramen if I was on orders.

The industry has to change and I think we are going to see a lot of change as the gene pool dries up in the next 10-15 years. They can only pull so many pilots out of the military and regionals. Last time I did a rough count, there were somewhere around 20,000 regional pilots and the amount of eligible ex-military and guard/reservists, although growing, is relatively small compared to the estimated 40,000+ airline pilots who are supposed to retire over the next 25 years just in this country alone (not to include growth and expansion of the pacific and middle-eastern airline industry). Have you seen Emirates pay scale? Yeah you have to live in Dubai, but as a single airline pilot, I can't see that absolutely sucking. With the extra cost and requirements of the new ATP, it's going to hard to recruit new pilots into the industry.

I know many guys who've played the Title 10 orders game. Good on them. Serving your country during the last decade's ops tempo isn't necessarily the "easy" way out doing your time on first year pay. It's not something I'd brag about. I think it's actually sad really. Yeah, there are guys who've worked the system, but there are plenty of those people in any workplace.

The airlines can go suck it.

When I was a Guardsman, the nation got a full up combat qualified F-15C instructor pilot, who was governed by the same UCMJ that covered active duty officers. I was available to be activated, deployed, placed in combat, or in some cases civil defense roles (F-15 pilots in New Orleans manning checkpoints, etc after Katrina) at a moments notice. I maintained the same currencies required by an F-15 pilot on active duty. Cost to the country? About $35-$50k a year or less on average. Medical benefits? None. Retirement? Not until age 60, and then at a discount to the active duty guys. The nation got (and gets from the rest of you still serving) an experienced, capable, ready to go to war group of pilots for pennies on the dollar compared to active duty pilots. Post 9/11 GI Bill? Not for me. Tricare? Nope... But just as much chance to get activated and go get killed in War or Peacetime as anyone else serving....

Airlines get a lot from government, including airfares for GS and military folks, military charter business, CRAF payments, as well as the government paying for the infrastructure of the industry with ATC, the FAA, NTSB, and safety programs in a host of agencies.

What does the government ask in exchange? "Let my servicemen serve unmolested, and protect their jobs..."

To me, its a bargain for the taxpayers. The total force provides great backup and insurance to the active duty, at a cost that saves our nation a tremendous amount of money.

So a few airline CEOs and others don't like the fact a few pilots out there who are serving their country get a break? I don't care. I don't care about their bonus, the shareholder concerns, or their scheduler's complaints. If we are going to defend this country, and deal with threats from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, ISIS, and whoever else wants to challenge us, its going to be expensive. We are broke as a nation, and we need to find a way to do what we do with the resources we have. The ANG and Reserves offer us a way to do more with less expense. Make it too hard to do both jobs, and the pilots will make the choice many have already made--to give up on the military side of things. The government knows that if they bend to the airline CEOs, in a few years they won't have a reserve force to manage. The airlines need to adapt. I think the costs could easily be absorbed with a reduction in management's compensation or stock buyback plans.

^Well said.

mildrop hatin'? Pftt.
http://i61.tinypic.com/2vdjpf5.gif

Right on Albie

Great post. I couldn't agree with you more.

Nicely said, Albie.

The point is, we give NOTHING.

USERRA is the law. Follow it, or face the consequences.

CAPA is crafting a response for DoD to use.

And, if some shill, wearing stars, writes a suggested policy for you to follow (on the back-door promise of a corporate job after retirement), don't follow his optional suggestions.

99% of Guard & Reserve guys do their level best to accommodate their companies with respect to their service. If a few use the system to their distinct advantage, I applaud them. What would management do if the roles were reversed?

Well, that'll just about cover the flybys.

Nice post, Albie.

Hindsight's gif just made me sneeze iced tea into my sinuses.

Reserves are a bargain. I think I might clear $15k a year from the reserves (we are currently just getting 48 drills, and 14 days AT and not a drill more here) but the Navy has a qualified E-2 pilot, who can also fly helicopters, and is current in the C-12 (day job).

I wish we (Navy Reserves) would stop slashing units/billets within units. VAW-77 (the only E-2C reserve unit in the country) shut down just as I was leaving active duty.

The non flying unit I'm in now (TACRON) just slashed about 1/3 of the billets while "Big Reserves" scream we are undermanned. I've tried to get ATP/RMPs for my underemployed guys, and there are none to be had.

Shack Albie!

Great post Albie! In many cases they get a fully qualified and, most important, an EXPERIENCED pilot for less than $35,000/year. I was part of a Reserve Associate Wing and the Active Duty kids were always coming across the hall for advice, and Intel about what the best way to accomplish the mission was. The Guard and Reserves are a fantastic asset to this nation and their cost is a pittance!

Amen!!!!!!!!!!

It's a wonderful benefit worth just about anything to get. I worked hard in my AF career to qualify for it. An example of its value, every single airline pilot in my unit is or will soon be on mil leave. Yes I avoided a lot of 1st year pay which was the plan. I'm on my second airline, I had to start over again. Luckily I was blessed to still have the opportunity to fly in the military. Many of us on mil leave are just trying to get to a AD retirement. Most of us will return, some will not. They just can't be away from mama for than a night or two.

Can you link to the A4A document?

It's capitalism, someone is always going to try and take advantage of someone. The pilots take advantage of the system to maximize their benefits and the airlines take advantage of the system to maximize theirs. I agree with Albie 100%. I hope I don't get hosed with this when it's my turn for year 1 pay...

For all who envy those who can "bypass" first year pay, I'll be happy to refer you to a recruiter. Step on up.

EVERYONE wants the benefits of being in the military yet they dont actually sign up for a variety of reasons:

1. I dont want to get shot at
2. I dont want to leave home and go overseas
3. I dont want someone controlling me like the military does
4. I cant leave my current job

Had a girlfriend in college with a sorority sister who ended up working for a Big 8 Accounting firm (there were 8 back then....). Her boyfriend--nice enough guy--was the typical BMW driving fraternity guy. He mentioned to me a couple times while I was in the limbo period between graduation and UPT that there was no way he could have been told what do do or worn a uniform, and he respected me but there was NO WAY he could ever do that.

A year later I was going to work in a flightsuit, hanging out with my 25 new best friends, and he was driving to work in Birmingham...working weekends to look good for boss, wearing the standard suit 5 days a week, and his haircut was now about as short as mine. I was sucking air out of a can, wearing a helmet, and doing loops over Mississippi and Alabama while he was doing his thing. I also noticed (thanks Top Gun) that 20-22 year girls didn't care which fraternity you were in during college but loved dating an Air Force officer and student pilot. I've made a few good decisions in my life, and a handful of bad ones, but gutting through the AFROTC BS in college paid off the first week I was in UPT. I've been living on the interest of that investment for almost 30 years since...

Your post has me seeing red.

First, that's not a fair definition of what capitalism is. But that's an argument for another day.

More importantly, stop staying shi'ite like that! I'm tired of my military service being described as anything but serving my country! Stop saying crap or insinuating that our military service if for "managing our schedules", "managing our quality of life", "getting past probation periods or probation pay", or "dropping those unwanted trips." That infuriates me!

I serve because quite frankly I want to serve and our country needs guys like me. And yes I acknowledge the incentive of maybe, just maybe, making it to 20 years so I can get a reserve retirement is part of that.

The truth is our Nation's defense can't survive without the Guard and Reserves. And just as Albie said and knocked it out of the park, we are every bit as capable if not more than our active duty counterparts, and our country exploits our knowledge and skills and saves a lot of money using us. More so, we tend to be the continuity and subject matter experts in our MOS/AFSC that is lacking in the "go here do the job for two years and move when you figure it out" active duty military.

If Airlines for America doesn't want our participation in the G&R, I say we threaten to significantly raise their federal tax dollars to help pay for a larger standing active duty force.

This is actually all that needs to be said. The nation can't afford an all active duty force. That's all there is to it.

If somehow they put restrictions on guard/reservists, it will be self defeating. Even with the most liberal use of USERRA, it is still extremely tough to be both a citizen and a soldier.

Any restrictions on this system would cause a manning crisis in the military even worse than what we currently have.

All true. But the airlines don't give a rodent's posterior...not their problem. Hopefully the DoD understands how badly they need us, and that airline employees make up a significant chunk of the air and navy reserve forces (and provide an even bigger percentage of operational support).

I highly recommend that any general officer who issues the corporate drafted policy be identified to the DoD Inspector General's office (that's the only one with teeth; the individual service IGs lack punitive powers in most cases involving GOs). The only reason to be complicit in this is for the promise of corporate employment after retirement.

Do we have any access to any "Guard & Reserve Code of Conduct" verbiage or campaign materials?

I sent an email to ROA, Reserve Officers Association, to see if they are tracking anything concerning this agenda. If I hear anything back I will post.

Yes, anybody have anything in writing? I can't find anything on CAPA's site?

I have not seen anything in writing, but would like to if it exists. No response from ROA as of this time from my earlier email inquiry.

Albie,
Spot on; as always.

Maybe the airlines should consider why they put 5 pilots in a 1 day silo on short-call when there are only 2 possible lines that are legal to fill into. It's a recipie for about 4-5 unused short-calls. You do that to a 1st-year-pay pilot sitting in some hotel so he can be 2 1/2 hours away from an airport watching a phone that will never ring...
Tell me-- why wouldn't that guy drop mil leace so he's not making $50-60K first-year pay (about a 75K pay cut) if he could drop mil leave occasionally to make his quality of life a little better?

I agree with Albie's first post. However, we are often our own worst enemies. It doesn't help our case to highlight avoiding 1st year pay or telling stories about dropping a bad trip in front of your FAs. Use the stuff between your ears for something other than ballast. Now, if we can just drop a BLU-82 on ISIS....

Here It Is!
 

All Kool-Aide drinkers, please advance to be recognized!

*******************************
MEMORANDUM FOR ALL AFRC PERSONNEL

FROM: AFRC/CC
155 Richard Ray Blvd
Robins AFB GA 31098-1635

SUBJECT: Pre- and Post-Military Duty Notification to Civilian Employers

1. As stated in our guiding principles, I am committed to providing a combat ready, fully operational, relevant and professional military force. As Citizen Airmen, I understand your challenge as you selflessly contribute to our nation while seeking a good Reserve-Work-Life balance. Part of keeping this balance with our civilian employers includes clear communication of military duties.

2. Both volunteerism and mobilization provide our Air Force the ability to support combatant commanders' requirements, and we will continue to use volunteerism to the maximum extent feasible in order to sustain force participation over the long term. Your employer plays a key role by supporting volunteerism in addition to involuntary mobilization. However, to ensure employers continue to provide us with their support, we must make it a priority to keep them informed of military commitments. This includes short term activities such as Unit Training Assemblies, Training Periods, and Annual Tours, as well as longer term commitments such as Air Expeditionary Force rotations, Military Personnel Appropriation orders, and Reserve Personnel Appropriation orders.

3. The best way to support our civilian employers is to provide them with as much predictability and early notification as possible regarding impending military requirements. As a reminder, under the post-service notification rules in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), members must provide employers with proof of military service performed if the period of service exceeded 30 days. Also, each Reserve Airman should be prepared to show proof of military service to his or her employer regardless of the number of days performed in order to retain protection under the statute. We must continue to partner with our civilian employers and demonstrate consistency with USERRA's intent. Supervisors should attempt to minimize impact to employers when possible, while also accomplishing the mission.

4. The reservist-employer partnership is critical to the capabilities that the Air Force Reserve provides to our nation, and is a key factor in maintaining Reserve-Work-Life balance.

Thanks for all you do!

JAMES F. JACKSON, Lt Gen, USAF
Commander

****************************

James F. Jackson, Lt Gen, USAF (Ret), will soon be on the board of directors at some airline. Hide & watch!

So, let's over-extend the Reserve component and when the inevitable pushback comes from civilian employers we'll just place the blame on the members. Sounds about par for the course.

Military service members have seen this before when Lt Gen Stenner wrote nearly the identical letter in his tenure 6 years ago.
USERRA is not abrogated by directives.
Employers cannot compel an employee to comply contrary to USERRA.
Employers can ask for, but not demand, documentation outside USERRA requirements. We don't have to provide it.
As always, recommend a positive diplomatic relationship with an employer.
Do educate yourselves on USERRA. Contact your union military committee or the DOL VETS office if believe your rights under USERRA are violated.
I think these Generals display a distrust of service members.
http://www.servicemembers-lawcenter....iew_Index.html

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I think Jackson is an AA guys isn't he?

Anyway, more people need to know the rules and quit letting their employer run them around. The orders thing is but one. I know dudes that send in orders without the request...which makes employers think that is the norm. Makes them think we always are on orders...and then causes issues when we push back.

Make sure your unions military committee has actual guard and reserve people on it..or you will be educating them!

Good post Albie....

[QUOTE=Junglejett;2015509]I think Jackson is an AA guys isn't he?
/QUOTE]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_F._Jackson

3600 Hours! Wow!

Note that Stenner established a liaison office with ATA, the forerunner of A4A, the industry lobby. Talk about integrity!