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Quote:

Originally Posted by pangolin (Post 3570975)

Kindness wins.

Tell that to SWA management. Pulleeeez 🙄

Are you not aware of the SJC firing just as one example? Wait, do you even work at SWA?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pangolin (Post 3570975)

Kindness wins.

A true statement and more people should live by . That said, please do no use that statement to defend a company that burned the culture to the ground, is chasing the almighty dollar on the backs of the employees, and calls it’s pilots plumbers right to their face.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickair7777 (Post 3567349)

I don't think they can simply deny OJI/disability for mundane tasks around the workplace even if it's not part of your job. If you were instructed/trained to avoid something inherently dangerous then they might have a leg to stand-on. I might be more concerned about accidentally dumping the wheelchair pax on the floor and getting in trouble if the pax has a liability claim.

Non-mundane tasks like fueling an airplane or operating a belt-loader might be different since you clearly need training for that, and you have no authorization to do it.

Of course if the company creates a climate where you're expected/encouraged to do tasks you're not trained for then they could be a world of liability hurt for NOT training you... that could apply if it's common for pilots to be helping out on the ramp. They have a duty to either train you or ensure that you don't do dangerous work.

I can assure you that Uber provides liability insurance for pax for all of their services, they could not possibly be so stupid as to rely on their pothead drivers for that. They may not insure the drivers for comprehensive, etc. So the driver might be screwed if he's doing uber on his regular private citizen insurance, but the pax will be fine.

All that said, if you hurt your back pushing a wheel chair or handling baggage, I'd probably just say it happened climbing out of your seat in the cockpit... nobody would argue that i your flying a 737 :rolleyes:

Not "no insurance", I doubt any state allows that. But many have comparative negligence, where the "victim" is responsible for some of the damages if his own actions aggravated the situation... such as not wearing seatbelts. I wear them always.

Alpa tells us to get Uber Black because they have higher insurance. Regular Uber has lower standards. You can look it up.

As for pushing wheelchairs, I could imagine a scenario in a deposition where the pilot gets grilled if something were to happen to the passenger. My approach is that if I am not trained for a job, I don’t do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mozam (Post 3571077)

My comment was not defending the company. It was about helping the stranded wheel chair passenger who is about to miss a connection because nobody showed to push them.

I understand the sympathy to the unfortunate passenger paying our salary, but if we continue to mask the problem (inadequate staff for moving wheelchairs whether they be company employees or contract employees) it will never be resolved. If you truly want to help us collectively succeed in fixing this problem, you'll politely decline to push that chair.

I came from an airline where there wasn't an expectation to push a wheel chair. In fact, I was told several times not to. I have to say, if you think having passengers sit and wait for a pusher is going to somehow force management to solve the problem, I believe your gravely mistaken. I don't think they would even notice.

I get both sides of the argument, but they aren't suddenly going to hire a bunch of extra people because pilots stopped pushing wheelchairs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arbalist1 (Post 3571259)

They'll notice if people start filing ADA (airport) and ACAA (airplane) complaints, which can result in fines(ADA)/legal action(ACAA) for the company.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arbalist1 (Post 3571259)

One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy hurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “Young man, what are you doing?” The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” The man laughed to himself and said, “Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said,
“I made a difference to that one.”

Outsider take-

Don't we take on enough liability and career risks as pilots without volunteering for jobs we are not trained or insured to do? Maybe we should have the FAs help out up front while we push wheelchairs around- maybe they can get the APU up and running and bussed up and get the packs configured for the passengers. Let's all just do each other's jobs! What could go wrong!

Don't throw bags. Don't push chairs. Protect your careers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobbyLeeSwagger (Post 3571617)

Black and white thinking. It’s immature. Use your judgement. I’ll first try to get authorized help. I check if the passenger has a connection. I ask the gate agent. It varies by the situation.