How about an opposing view? All these great suggestions on how to behave "professionally" really amount to ways to steal from your employer, who has the nerve to employ you to fly airplanes at what is the going rate for your services and trusts you will behave in an ethical and/or professional manner while doing it. If you don't like what they are paying, why not go somewhere else?

Seems like out and out sabotage to me. Why not just take a hammer to the EFIS? That would cost the company a lot of money too. I think everyone has a right to organize and negotiate their pay, but some of these suggestions seem kind of sleazy.

Honestly, if any of you had a kid out there that worked at McDonalds, would you encourage them to take money out of the register while no one was looking to make up for the sub-standard fast food wages? Anyone? Seems like the same thing to me.

End of rant.

 

While I personally don't have a problem with tanker fuel I do feel that you are not getting the point behind this thread. We actually cost the company less monetarily per hour by blocking out late and flying at LRC instead of max forward. The company pays mx by the hour. Taxiing slow is something that I feel should be done regardless of how much your contract negotiations are going. I fly in and out of MEM and see FDX all the time. These guys do not taxi fast, they do not start taxiing as the FO is still reading back the taxi clearance, and they are extremely professional whenever I see them in public. That being said FDX does have a "rough" safety record. I go back and reiterate my previous post on the pinnacle negotiations thread. Safety should be first regardless of if you are being paid $20.73 an hour or if you are paid $225 an hour. The problem that I think those who work for PNCL are bringing up are the following 3 issues.

1. Block out- This is the part where the "delay" statistics begin. The company prides itself on such a good on time performance. We (as pilots) try to be on time by closing the door and reseting the parking brake on time. What happens many times is this.. We have not been given a cargo slip, FA asks to close not realizing we do not have the slip, CA says "yea- we can still be on time", and we get our cargo numbers from a ramper when they come to push us back.

here are the issues with this: A.) Many CA's and FA's are more concerned with being "on-time" just so they don't have to do a carpet dance to explain why they were 2 minutes late. ---We send off late reports via ACARS and as long as we operated per the company procedures we are not at fault---. B.) CA's feel they can get the door closed to get "on the clock". Well great but the extra 15 minutes a trip at a 20% discount are costing you sooo much in the long run by working under the contract from 5 years ago. Kinda like running up a credit card that gives you 5% cash back and carrying a balance at a 18% interest rate- STUPID! C.) Get cargo numbers from the ramper. Here is the safety issue I have.. We cannot verify the numbers. I cannot tell you how many times the numbers get calculated wrong! Thats a big deal on a nose heavy A/C. D.) When you block out without your rampers now you sit and sit and the company doesn't care because you were "out" on time.

Point- if you work in accordance with company procedures and assure you have your cargo slip and a ramp pushback crew before blocking out the "on time" numbers will be far lower than advertised. This gets mgmt's attention AND keeps everyone safe!


2. Taxi Slow... What were you doing before? To me you are simply admitting you do not practice a "safety first" philosophy!

3. Fly at LRC. This is a gripe that I am guilt of. Last leg or a leg to the overnight is typically done by setting the power at the cruise carats... gets us to .77-.82 depending on weight/temp/etc. We are filed at .74. By pulling the levers back and doing LRC you are going to fly at .70, conserve fuel, and show mgmt and the flying public that when we are late getting out we will be late on the other side. MGMT gets away with us blocking out early, waiting for 15 minutes for the rampers to push us back, then WE fly fast and make up the time. The company gets away with saying "we left and arrived on time with no delays" when in reality the pilots got numbers from a ramper, flew fast and went into the contigency fuel, and made the company look good. Here is a problem...


No pilot at this company is condoning the destruction of this company, this pilot group is unified in that we won't settle for "subpar", yet many still try to be on time or early on both sides just to be selfish. All this does is cost the entire pilot group money and QOL in the end by not pressuring mgmt for a new contract. An hour of pay and extra hour of rest over the course of each monthly line is not worth the extra guaranteed 1-2 days off and 10% (or more) raise that gets passed up on by being selfish and letting mgmt keep us on the 5 year old contract. Plus nothing like having the W&B screwed up or having to divert if you are told to hold for 10 minutes because you blocked out 5 mins early and fly .03 faster.

Not a rant- just my own point of view after 1100 hours with this company.

 

Where did you get this from? I think I have tanker fuel on my release maybe once a month.

 

I know you are not in this industry yet, so I will try educate rather than try to make you feel dumb for your response.

In the airline industry, there is this wonderful (sarcasm) piece of legislation called the Railway Labor Act. It's purpose is to keep the railroads and the airlines moving. If these entities were to shut down due to a labor strike, the country would feel the effects, big time. So the Railway Labor Act is designed to keep labor from cutting off a vital artery to the country.

The unfortunate part of the Railway Labor Act (for those of us who work in the airline industry) is that means you cannot strike without going through a long and strenuous process. You must negotiate for a while (typically years). Then the National Mediation Board (NMB) steps in and helps mediate the contract talks. If things still do not go well, you have to request the NMB to release you for a 30 day cooling off period. If they agree, and no agreement is reached, the NMB may release you for self help (that means a sickout, job action, or a strike).

Notice the word MAY in here. The NMB does not have to release a pilot group for self help. The Bush administration has told the NMB not to release an airline labor group for self help (ie, strike) during the remainder of his term. And it is not just Republicans who are unfriendly to airline labor groups striking. During the Clinton presidency in 1997, American Airlines pilots went on strike, and President Clinton invoked emergency powers to order them back to work.

The long story is that if an airline labor group wants to better their profession and working conditions, they have to through a long and strenuous process that usually hurts the labor group. Even if they make it through the process (which often takes 3-5 years), and end up going on strike, the president can step in and order them back to work.

Airline labor groups have their hands tied behind their back because of the Railway Labor Act

But pilots still do have leverage? How? They can slow down an airlines operation, and that is LEGAL.

This is basically the only quick, legal, solution to pressure management into negotiating. In 2000, United pilots refused to work overtime for 3 months. In addition, they used many of the same methods as have been mentioned earlier in this thread. After about 3 months, management agreed to give them a 48% raise (12% a year for 4 years). A little pressure from the pilot group kept them from having to go through that long and useless mediation process under the NMB.


Pinnacle is a low quality regional airline in terms of employee compensation. First and second year FO's flying up to 76 seat aircraft make less than $25,000 a year. That is basically the poverty level. Even captains at Pinnacle make less than most other regional airlines. So they have every right to pressure management for a new contract.

And they are NOT stealing. They are simply doing things "by the book." Imagine if you were a taxi driver, and suddenly you began:

• Only driving the speed limit, and slower on a rainy day.
• Stopping for 3 seconds at every stop sign
• Leaving 3 car lengths in between you and the car in front of you, even during rush hour traffic.
• Not changing lanes unless there was ample room.

You get the idea. You are still doing everything "by the book." It is perfectly legal. In fact, technically, what you were doing before hand was illegal.
The same is true for the pilots of Pinnacle. Everything they are proposing is legal, and safer than before. In fact, technically, some of the stuff they are doing on a normal basis is not the safest.


Pinnacle pilots only leverage is to slow down and do things "by the book." They are still giving 100%, just not anymore.

I for one am proud of the Pinnacle pilot group. They are working for better pay and work rules which will benefit the entire industry. And everything they are talking about is perfectly legal. I just hope they implement it to put some pressure on management. They will not get a contract this decade if they have to go through the entire NMB process. And even then they may still be forbidden from striking. So what's the point.

Do you understand now skywatch? If you don't, please feel free to ask for clarification. Pinnacle pilots are not stealing. They are simply using their leverage to get better pay and work rules. And everything they are talking about is 100% legal!!

 

The big problem is that they are not being paid the going rate. That and QOL sucks for them. The problem that comes with just "going somewhere else" is starting at the bottom again, losing seniority, and losing what little pay increase you've already earned. I hope these guys get their pay increase soon and a nice retro check in reparation.

 

Here's the deal...if you want to stay w/ the mcD's analogy, it would be as if mgmt. told your kid to serve every customer w/I 5mins of them being in line. to do so, perhaps they don't have time to do the mandatory cleaning the food inspector tells them to, so they rush through it to make sure the 5 min. rule is observed. Even though they may hit the goal by sacrificing safety, it is not the right thing to do. Same thing with being an airline pilot...true, we should all be flying safely all the time. Fact is, many take short cuts and some do so in order to not have to explain in a phone call or office as to why. The difference between McD's and an airline is that this is a career for most evey pilot here...not following safety can kill that career. The point is, this is a legal AND ethical task that will cause mgmt. to see that perhaps some things need to change

 

I try to do my part, i never block out until i get my cargo slip and cargo door close. I also run into stations where I find out the headset is broken after blocking out. I have the FA open the door and I give the ground crew a safety brief. There's a delay for the company. Maybe if they get enough of these delay report they will get those headset issues fix. I always fly profile or slower, unless asked to go fast by ATC. Taxi at a safe speed. If I have to wait for numbers, I go and wait some where and never pick up my cell phone.

Maintenance issues. Some of the most common ones, are the flt spoilers fault or ice det 1 or 2 fail message. Some CA will just reset the CB and and go on their way. I write it up in the AML and wait til MOC to ACARS back the corrective actions.

 

good luck, when your MEC leader picks up open time during a picket....thats a bad sign

 

This is a serious allegation you are making and to the best of my knowledge is unfounded. Please elaborate. I'd like to know the initials of the person you are referring to and on what date / picketing event this allegedly took place.

 

all of these are excellent AND professional...following regs and procedures