Contract Survey
 

First contract Survey is out for 2019. Make your voices heard. It was sent in an ALPA email, if you didn't get it contact your rep or log onto the ALPA website.

I did my survey last night. It was relatively painless...maybe 15-20 minutes depending on how much thought you put into it. The question about international premium pay threw me off. I wasn't sure what that was unless they were talking about the override.

I hope there will be follow up surveys to fine tune some of the areas.

This



filler

If you haven't already check out the contract comparison they made before doing the survey. It really highlights areas where we are lacking compared to our peers.

I spent 10 minutes looking at it and didn't make it through very far. I wish there had been a Cliff Notes version highlighting those areas where we're behind our peers.

Really? It was probably the most comprehensive and thoughtfully laid out product they could have produced. You couldnt take 10 more minutes to actually look at the numbers? It was pretty clear, and they did a hell of a job laying it out pretty clearly.

I looked at it closely and only made it through a small portion of the product. At the speed I went through, it would have taken a couple of hours to go through it (I probably spent closer to 30 minutes rather than 10). Well produced; too much detail for my miniscule cranium to absorb in one sitting.

Really, I didn't see anything in it that surprised me - I've already read about most areas where our contract differs from other sources...

Is this a document that can be shared?

Contract Survey
 

Union sent it out. It's probably on the alpa website.


It is.
Log in and go to e-library and select "contract"
2nd one down.
Contract comparison guide...2nd q 2017

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Contract Survey
 

Thanks, but as far as I can tell, that only shows your own airline's documents.

I agree, it's an outstanding document.

Not being willing to put more than 10 minutes into such an important topic is exactly what we're up against. This is the same reason there are so few people at union meetings.

Oh well. We'll get the contract we deserve.

What do you mean?
It compares in bullet points, the main contract areas of our peers. I found the narrow body/ regional ratio comparison to be the most eye opening.

You're right it doesn't compare full language.


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Did anything in the guide surprise you?

He's not United so he can't access it.

I didn't realize AA had 200 more airplanes than we do.

I saw nothing in the report that caught me by surprise, including aircraft fleet sizes, pay rates, rigs, reserve rules, etc, comparisons.

I chose to fill out the survey without completely reading the guide, knowing that I could refer back to the guide if I needed clarification on anything. I didn't need to refer back to the guide when I filled out the survey. While it's nice to read every single aviation related publication out there, a lot of the stuff I read is the same as other sources of information I've already read so I don't read everything cover to cover. If you find my methodology distasteful, I can't help you because I'm not going to spend a couple hours rereading stuff I already know.

You're back-pedalling and making yourself look silly.

What Grumble and I were reacting to was your comment:

"I spent 10 minutes looking at it and didn't make it through very far. I wish there had been a Cliff Notes version highlighting those areas where we're behind our peers."

In other words, you couldn't be bothered to even read the whole thing.

Now you say:

"I saw nothing in the report that caught me by surprise"

Well, if you "didn't make it very far" then it's pretty obvious why you saw nothing that caught you by surprise.

Nobody said you have to read "every single aviation related publication," but it would be nice if you could at least read the ones put out by your own union. Especially the ones that are this comprehensive and come at an important time in our history.

That's ok, the rest of us can study the material and invest the cranium time necessary to make wise decisions.

Ah, another attempt at virtue shaming. I will make sure to read cover to cover every 84 page document the ALPA puts together before filling out future contract surveys. Thanks; I feel absolutely terrible that I filled out the contract survey without spending several hours reading the accompanying document cover to cover.

FWIW, I did the survey without opening the contract comparison. The survey was asking me where I thought the contract could be improved. I don't need a guide to figure out what my opinion is.

Obviously, by showing up month after month and working under this contract, you already have an informed enough opinion to fill out the survey. Nobody's said otherwise. But Andy saying he couldn't focus for longer than 10 minutes on the comparison document seems lame. If that constitutes "virtue shaming" then I'm profoundly sorry.

I never mentioned "too many numbers". Exact quote:


You're old enough to remember Cliff Notes so I don't need to explain that to you. The comparison guide is a nice document, but it is quite a tome for an initial contract survey. I would have preferred something shorter that hit on the items (specifically non-pay) where we're behind our peers.

I was referring to your "too much detail for my miniscule cranium to absorb in one sitting" comment.

Here's the thing Andy, the 86 page document IS the cliff-notes version. It's not like it's 86 pages of text, it's mostly tables and graphs. It's a SUMMARY of where we're ahead and where we're behind.

It was self-deprecating humor. A swing and a miss.

If 9 pages of 'days off' was the Cliff Notes, I cringe at what the unabridged version looked like.

Well the UPA is what, 600 pages?

Like was mentioned, you work under the thing, you know what you like and don't like. If that's the case does the comparison really matter? It was a pretty enlightening read to say the least.

Contract Survey
 

The comparison documents MECs put together when preparing for negotiations is important to know before taking any contract survey. You may feel that your compensation or work rules are adequate until you find out that a certain part of your contract is the industry basement. I run into many pilots who simply don't know what they don't know and therefore are blissfully ignorant of their subpar contract. Just because you've worked under a contract, doesn't mean you know how it compares, even if you have an opinion of what needs to be improved. By how much should it be improved? What do the other airlines have in their contract? Or are your expectations a little too high? Can't know any of this unless you know a comprehensive contract comparison.

Well put!

As you say, you have opinions about certain sections of the existing contract, but seeing what other pilot groups have been able to negotiate greatly broadens your perspective. I can't imagine going into negotiations without a comparison like this document.

I'm grateful to the MEC for publishing it and wish more people would give it the attention it deserves.