E-SRL and Commuting
 

First I'll start by saying, yes we know commuting is a choice. Thank you
No better time to be living in base these days.
It appears to me that commuters in particular will be practically forced into taking one of the SRL options. Because we simply can't get to our base. I live in a fairly large city, that had service to just about every other large city in the states. But now there is no service. I either can't get to base or return.
Not that I want to go to my base, its practically ground zero these days.
Next month I have vacation. If I take an SRL I'll lose the vacation pay. Yeah no thanks.
Empty line is tempting. But again, trip becomes available, can't get there.
Any other commuters determining the same thing?

I commute and I’m going to bid reserve. They have cut service on my commute severely, sometimes just 2 flights a day, but I’ll get there when I get there, often with no backup. I’m going to bid reserve and pay for hotels and meals. The current ESRL options are not something that I would bid. I’m not going to take 30-35 hours of pay now and the balance in December. They can offer the same terms as the April bid, or they can pay me 73 hours instead of 50. I’d rather just bid a 4 month SRL and stay home while this is at its peak, but they’re going to have to pay at least 50 hours, and all paid now.

Double Commute now, bidding reserve.

I was 18% in my category before the spam hit the fan. Then in April I was in the bottom third above the g-line because I had vacation and was unable to select a SRL.

For May I'll commute to RSV as it beats ANY of the E-SRL options. Doubt I'll get used much if the flying in April is any indication, and if I can't make it using the prudent pilot policy, oh well, I'll still come out ahead ($$$) compared to a E-SRL.

I know that there are times that local folks and commuter folks quarrel over issues. But, I assure you, though I am a local guy, I understand that in these times the items that bind us as pilots are vastly vastly more important than those 1st world quarrels.

As such, this local guy will wait a bit after 11 am so people can pick up whatever SC/FSB/trip works for them and their commute (if any) and then I will pick up whatever is left, so that we can keep the "assigned" SCs and FSBs to a minimum!!

"We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." - Ben Franklin

Making sure that the Company cannot get away with the low ball offers that are out there right now is going to require some resolve. I resolve that I will take any "screw the commuter" option I can off the table, so that the pain of reserve can be minimized for all.

I am a commute as well, and it looks like the commute is going to be somewhere between horrible and impossible. I had the thought that I need to bid this, but doing so will only allow the company to get away with putting out such a lousy offer. If we can stand together as so “no way”, they will have to come back with something better to get the numbers they need. Don’t do it.

Do you have a family member at home that is at high risk with this nightmare? I didn’t think so. Don’t tell people what they should be doing in a situation like this to fit your little bubble.

Your next offering might be a pink slip or a court imposed contract. Good luck.

Another option is to try to trade your vacation for somewhere later in the year, and then try for the SRL or eSRL.

Double commute for me also bidding reserve and will take my chances with a missed trip or out of position. ESRL is a no go for me

I do the hub to hub and we are down to 1 sometimes 2 flights. Unfortunately I am coming in on my days off (half winger)

I'd never tell someone else how to bid. And in this case I'm not even sure it wouldn't constitute an illegal job action, so let's not go there. However, it is my belief that if a sufficient number of people choose reserve, the company will choose to offer traditional SRLs. I believe this will happen, and it will once again delay our bid close and award dates. I can say that for my situation, as a reserve commuter, it makes more sense to simply sit reserve than accept an E-SRL.

From the SSC comms tonight. Looks like round two of the E-SRLs are already planned!!!

• 02 Apr eSRL/eCOLA/Empty Line inventory estimates by Category published
• 04 Apr
  • End of Day - Pairings Published to CCS
  • 0700CT eSRL/eCOLA/Empty Line Round 1 Bid Close
• 06 Apr
  • 1700CT eSRL/eCOLA/Empty Line Round 1 Award publish
  • 1700CT PBS Bid Window Opens
  • 1700CT eSRL/eCOLA/Empty Line for May Round 2 Bids Open
• 07 Apr 1700CT eSRL/eCOLA/Empty Line inventory estimates by Category published
• 08 Apr 1200CT eSRL/eCOLA/Empty Line Round 2 Bid Close
• 09 Apr 1700CT eSRL/eCOLA/Empty Line Round 2 award publish
• 10 Apr
  • 1400CT 20-B-4 Absence Data Cutoff
  • 1600CT Final PBS Parameter and G Line Document Published
• 12 Apr 1000CT PBS Bid Window Closes
• 15 Apr 2359CT All CA PBS Awards Published
• 17 Apr 2359CT All FO Awards Published
• 18 Apr 1000CT PBS Award/Dispute Windows Open
• 23 Apr 1000CT PBS Award/Dispute

I'm not surprised. This is a very dynamic situation and the company is going to re-evaluate after the first deadline closes. I'd be shocked if a group of corporate professionals trying to get through this didn't do just that.

I emailed Paul Carlson shortly after the EWR Town Hall about a related issues, and he wrote me back within an hour and said this would happen. Completely expected and planned.

I’ll be on reserve before I take an ESRL line. Hard to justify a free loan with high risk of bankruptcy and not getting that pay with out some sort of risk/reward given considering our UPA offers SRL at 50 hours.

this was a total failure of the union...and unanimously approved.

Im not sure if things are way worse than we believe (in that case get paid everything you can considering the .gov is paying for it) or we are getting duped by both the company and the union. Sure...it’s voluntary but why agree to such pathetic offerings).

consider pretty much all of us don’t qualify for the .gov stimulus checks, this is essentially our stimulus money. And we are the higher tax paying individuals. Most of us paid more in taxes last year than the average worker earns.

So the company doesn’t meet their SRL goal for April and then they make the eSRL offer for May worse?!? I don’t get that tactic. I was looking forward to taking May off, but not under the current offered conditions. Pay in December... this company has made way too many future promises that they have welched on. No thanks!!!

exaclly!
i just don’t understand the logic behind this. So a few people chose the ESRL options and now the company is going to pay thousands to sit around on reserve for 73 hours v.s. 50 for an SRL with govt money.
Ok then I’ll get 23 more hours pay for May to sit at home and if I get called for FSB or short call I’ll tell them I can’t and file a pdr let them know I’m not violating cdc guidelines to go to the epicenter of the pandemic in New York and sit in some hotel or crash pad.
the union really should be addressing this instead of leaving us to fend for ourselves.
not impressed rite now w ALPA
write to your reps that this is unsat!

Did just this recently. Sent a PDR asking them to work on the FSB and SC nonsense, as it poses a grave danger to our health and safety. I also mentioned relief for commuters, as most of our commute options have vaporized.

Crickets.

They should completely do away with FSB at this point, and offer a bit of bonus pay for local non-commuters to volunteer for SC, which they could do from the safety of home, while ensuring operations continuity.

While I am thoroughly discouraged by the E-SRL debacle, I am quite pleased with the way the union has inadvertently rallied the troops. Talk about unintended consequences.

SRL used to pay 60 when the company was in far worse shape. Yet in the new (current) contract suddenly they're only 50. Can you spell concession? This, of course, one of many in the current CBA. And all of a sudden WE are loaning them our money till some magical date in the future when they may find some way to avoid payment or pay us less? Even though Uncle Sam is ponying up for salaries and cheap loans? Stinks.

Pitchforks, gentlemen.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/wp-conte...682e1cee0.jpeg

F’n A Bubba. They still haven’t fully repaid the last loan I gave them.

Have you been to the airports? It’s probably the safest place to be. There is nobody there. Suck it up. If you don’t want reserve bid an esrl.


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You got yours already, I guess. Congrats.

Don’t agree with the tone of his post, but I do agree that airports presently provide plenty of opportunity for social distancing. Just don’t over-assign the shifts. The other issue is boredom. For me, I’ll be in the employee lot jamming to tunes. I can be at the gate in 10.

The good news is that it looks like not many are bidding the ESRL’s. SFO 777 FO needs 279 for the 4 month option, they have 14 bidders. Hopefully they’ll realize that a lowball offer with us loaning them payroll dollars until December isn’t going to work and they come back with 50 hours per month and no delayed compensation.

Fixed it for ya. No more concessions.

There's no way I'm taking an ESRL. I'm on reserve and with the lack of flying right now, you're all going to be on reserve soon. My airplane isn't even flying in my base. I'll sit at home and collect my 73 hours.

I've PDR'd both SC's I've sat, but as frustrating as it is, those are the price I'm going to be paying for having a job right now. The delta between 50 and 73 pays for a lot of hotels. It doesn't matter whether or not they fix it, because come May, dozens will be on reserve every day.

The union's ability to negotiate anything meaningful thus far is discouraging, but sadly, not unexpected.

What was your problem with the SC and what exactly do you expect to have happen by PDR’ing something that’s UPA compliant? Asking out of genuine curiosity, as I’ve been on reserve for the last year doing anywhere from 2-8 SCs per month, every month. It’s the contract between the union and company. I comply.

Good job on PDR'ing the FSB and SC assignments. Progress is supposed to be made. 👍👍

Source of those numbers? I'd like to see what other BESs look like. Thanks.

CCS

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It was on CCS with their target numbers. This time they had the number of available and also the number who have bid them in parentheses.

I do plenty of SC's too. My record is 10 in a month.

The issue is assigning them to a pilot when there is absolutely no 757/767 on the days in question out of that base. Make no mistake, I'll continue to go sit them, but it lacks all common sense. CS shouldn't be given short call lines to staff on jets that aren't flying. That's the point of the PDR.

It doesn't matter whether they fix it or not because next month, almost all of us are going to be on reserve. The silo will grow ten to twenty-fold.

you mean your fleet isn’t even turning a single wheel some days and they’re still assigning them?

New temporary FSB policy has been put out. Can stand FSB off-airport and take up to an additional 30 minutes to report. Just have to let CS know.

I find this helpful and reasonable.

Thanks much. Things are changing so rapidly that one has to check multiple sources several times a day just to stay slightly behind the latest news.
I'm slowly stepping away from all of this - I put in for the 4 mo ESRL and will happily unplug from everything for a few months.

Careful. I've been tagged with
1) deadheading to another city, and
2) doing ferry flights
in the past.

While nothing may be on the schedule, you never know what crew sked's going to come up with. Someone's been flying those planes to VCV, ROW, and GYR.

Exactly.

Happy to serve, but it's just silly.

I have considered it, but i have vacation. 2 weeks in 1 month is worth more credit than the damn srl, and you cant just kick the vacation can down the road.

Given the lackluster ESRL numbers, I expect the value for the ESRLs to increase in version 2. I'm also wondering what kind of deal they'll work with vacation. Fortunately (or not), I'm too junior to know what it's like to get vacation in the summer.

It sounds like you're better off going with the monthly SRL and flying the line or a reserve line during your vacation month. I wonder if they'll change that rule.

At my last carrier we had an option to self-designate "will fly" for reserves to bring themselves to the top of the list for getting an assignment. Maybe we need something like this for the non-commuters who don't mind sitting short call or FSB to let the commuters stay home... not so much a pickup, but a "hey I don't mind doing this" sort of thing...

would be nice. But you will still get tagged once all “will fly” folks had their two SC/FSB.