SUBJECT: VACANCY BIDDING GRANDFATHER RIGHTS FOR DISPLACED PILOTS

STATEMENT OF QUESTION(s):
(a) Should the United MEC pursue vacancy bid grandfather rights for ALL United Pilots harmed or otherwise inconvenienced by the company’s recent “Base-Balancing” plans?

BACKGROUND:
In May 2014, ALPA Council 171 Officer (LC 171) was informed that United Airlines Management (UAL) had retained the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to “Balance” their bases; a duty usually accomplished by UAL. LC 171 was initially told to expect approximately 170 IAH 737 CA displacements. In Fall 2014, UAL informed LC 171 too expect 0 IAH displacements. In Jan 2015, LC 171 was told to expect 200 IAH 737 CA, 100 IAH FO and 40-50 IAH 756 CA displacements. As of today, LC 171 has been told that UAL doesn’t know the number of displacements to expect. LC 171 views the rapidly changing manpower “plans” and directorship a threat to ALL United Pilots, these “plans” will certainly cascade into system-wide inconveniences and detriment to United Pilots system-wide.

SOURCE AND SUBMITTED:
LEC 171

PROPOSED SOLUTION
WHEREAS the Pilots of 171 have been informed by UAL of their intent to displace numbers of 171 Pilots ranging from “170”, to “0”, to “350” and finally to “undetermined”, and

WHEREAS the Pilots of 171 take issue with UAL manpower planning’s long record of poor performance and reliance on the BCG’s advice, and

WHEREAS the Pilots of 171 has also reviewed the historically poor performance of the Boston Consulting Group, and

WHEREAS the Pilots of 171wish to protect the quality of life of ALL United Pilots by discouraging impulsive, needless and whimsical disruption of ALL United Pilots and there families

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Pilots of 171 direct the United MEC utilize all available resources to acquire vacancy bid grandfather rights of 24 months for any Pilot who’s displaced position is offered in a subsequent vacancy bid, occurring within the preceding 24 months of said Pilots actual displacement.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, if said Pilot is returned to said position, that return shall also be treated a contractual displacement under the current UPA.

Someone needs to either use spellcheck, or stop relying on auto correct. ..

well, you can wish in one hand and shat in the other....see which one fills up first. Our contract already provides 120 days of grandfather rights when a vacancy occurs in a base that's been surplussed. But a "displacement" back is not part of the deal. I guess (hope) they mean paid move and not a full displacement. 24 months is an eternity as far manpower planning goes. I would be shocked to see this even pass the MEC....not that it wouldn't help a LOT of us DEN guys out. But I believe in seniority, not BS special deals.

Sled

Horribly written decivisive bit of tripe. Spell check would have made it a little more presentable. Until Loa 25 is fixed (no horse in that race) why would anyone consider a carve out for the iah 737 pilots? It appears they really are that disconnected.

Scott

I guess I'm with sled on this. Im all for finding ways to not get screwed over by whimsical, haphazard, irresponsible business ideas but as long as we're not selectively enforcing and then otherwise ignoring parts of our current contract. Perhaps the next contract we should find a way to nail down these protections for UAL's "pin the tail on the domicile" staffing strategy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am as anti-UAL management and negative about how they run things as they come. But this. Really?

IAH pilots are somehow super protected. Really?

IAH is a huge base. The other fleets will absorb most of the displacements. They really require super seniority rights? Really?

How did the IAH LEC respond to the closing of the SEA BASE, displacements in other bases?

Really?

SMH. So tough to deal with the real world when ur looking at it from Bubbland...

I worked on the lCal side for a year before the SLI. In some ways (employee relations) it was far better than lUAL. On the other side it was a really 3rd rate **** airline, run by a bunch of friends and family of Fred.

The IAH LEC recommending some kind of super seniority rights for IAH pilots is almost comical, if it wasn't ridiculous.

Suck it up.

...maybe divisive?

Frankly, there should be no special protections requested or granted to any United pilots beyond those provided for in the UPA. Section 8-C-6 of the UPA already provides 120 days of "grandfather rights" to displaced pilots. Section 8-E-11 of the UPA already provides that any displaced pilot shall not be subject to a freeze and is entitled to a paid move and positive space tickets in accordance with Section 10.

MOU 14 of the UPA provides 24 months of grandfather rights to the ORD 747, LAX 747, SEA 777 categories. This was negotiated due to the closure and reopening of the ORD 747 category and provides protection for flying that RETURNS to a previously CLOSED category. The alignment of flying in Houston is a completely different situation from one that triggers MOU 14. A category is not being completely phased out of the Houston domicile. The Houston displacements are standard, generic displacements already covered by the UPA. Reading the resolution it only points out the pain Houston IAH 737 CA's have endured or will endure. No mention of IAH 737 FO's, IAH 756/76T CA's, DEN 76T/320 pilots, etc. which makes you question their desire to protect ALL pilots. Plus, where exactly do the 76T pilots possibly bumped in the future and SEA pilots displace back to?

If Council 171 is determined to pass a resolution concerning displacements the resolution should request limited grandfather rights patterned after MOU 14's 24 months. Grandfather rights that only apply to flying RETURNED to a category. Vacancies from normal attrition should be filled using Section 8 of the UPA. If vacancies from normal attrition aren't filled per the UPA the seniority of all pilots who have the seniority to hold those positions will have been abrogated. The NC and/or SSC could decide the correct metrics to be used to determine whether future vacancies are due to attrition or flying being returned to Houston and employ those metrics to publish the number of grandfather positions available if such a resolution was passed.