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Originally Posted by hummingbear
(Post 3605488)
Again, where this mindset runs into trouble is that we negotiate things that benefit select portions of our labor group all the time. RSV rule improvements, trip credit protections, int’l override, commuter benefits, check airman/TK pay, to name a few. It’s just too big a tent to cover everyone at the same time. And yet, every time one of these things comes up, someone starts in with, “Well, I don’t want my negotiating capital blah, blah, blah…”
We’ve got to get past this mentality that a benefit is only a benefit if everyone gets it. Otherwise we never fix reserve, we never improve trip quality, we leave the TK guys out to dry. In fact, there’s only one benefit that universally applies to all 15,000 of us & that’s pay; and the one thing we all seem to agree on is that we don’t want a contract that focuses solely on pay. So we need to embrace this patchwork approach & stop begrudging each other our respective areas of focus if we want a truly excellent contract. (The irony of the FO in your example is that he will most likely ultimately end up enjoying the benefit he voted against & paying the associated penalty he voted to impose upon others- all in the name of “fairness”.) That means there will be some things in this contract I benefit from more than others. There will be other things I won’t presently benefit from, but will probably benefit from in the future. And there will be some things I’m very unlikely to ever benefit from at all. I want all of those things. |
Originally Posted by hummingbear
(Post 3605113)
A captain who earns 5% extra will pay 5% more in dues by virtue of increased wages. We frequently negotiate benefits that don’t apply to all without asking the respective beneficiaries to change their dues contributions. (Should we up the percentage a RSV pilot pays if they no longer have to be available early on their first day? Should WB guys pay a higher percentage if we increase int’l override?)
I suppose you could try this, but that would be an amendment to the union bylaws, not the labor contract. Still, would you present a budget breakdown of why you feel it’s necessary, or is it more just a desire to penalize someone who got a benefit you might not have? |
Looks like 50 out of the 91 captain slots went unfilled on this go round, and many of the filled captain slots were from already existing captains. Maybe the company will take note that reserve QOL improvements will be needed after all!
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Originally Posted by BlueScholar
(Post 3608860)
Looks like 50 out of the 91 captain slots went unfilled on this go round, and many of the filled captain slots were from already existing captains. Maybe the company will take note that reserve QOL improvements will be needed after all!
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Originally Posted by Airhoss
(Post 3608957)
Denial is not just a River in Africa! This management is in rabid denial about our reserve system, reassignments issue and multiple other QOL items.
On one hand it doesn’t seem like a number they couldn’t get around, yet in this week FOU they were bending the knee to beg people to bid Captain. Hard for me to figure out how big an issue it practically is. |
Originally Posted by JTwift
(Post 3605050)
This is incredible short sighted. Reserve rules aren't just for junior upgrades. It helps create movement through the ranks. It helps for when a displacement comes. And, especially these days, IT HELPS RECRUITMENT!
Our reserve rules are punitive. I just don't know any other way to put it. Being Narrow Body reserve over the summer, especially as a commuter (i.e. most of our pilots), is flat out hellish. (I can't comment on Widebody, since I haven't done it.) I just can't describe the feeling I get when I consider upgrading to CA, but then remember last summer, sitting reserve....it makes me want to vomit. If I were a pilot with options on UAL/AA/DAL/FX/UPS, I can tell you that UAL would not be number 1 on that list, especially when you factor that EVERYONE sits reserve at some point (oh, unless you were one of those people waiting for IOE for 9 months, getting 90 hours a month, then just magically dropped into a line above me, while I kept getting knocked down the ladder; another thing I'd like to see changed in the contract.) A reserve pilot is there to protect the operation. It is always going to have a certain level of instability as that is the nature of the job. |
Originally Posted by EwrRocks
(Post 3608970)
Is 50 or even 100 unfilled Captain vacancies really that big a deal to the company? It does tell you something about how bad the QOL is, but does management really care?
On one hand it doesn’t seem like a number they couldn’t get around, yet in this week FOU they were bending the knee to beg people to bid Captain. Hard for me to figure out how big an issue it practically is. |
if you look at how many people have come off probation since the last vacancy and the number who have bid CA in this new vacancy, I think it looks like we’re not going to keep up with the growth.
It seems to me that the reality is, more and more young people are not willing to give up their life outside work for the almighty dollar. If you get hired in your 30s, you probably have a family and the quality of life you can have as a senior FO making 200,000 a year is a better trade than an extra 50 grand a year and six more days of work a month. If you’re young and actually enjoy the person you’re in a relationship with and/or have things you like to do outside of work, the extra money is not going to make up for the time lost away from your pursuits. As hummingbear says, everyone has a number… But at this point, I don’t think the trade is worth it for most (as evidenced by the company asking people to upgrade) |
Originally Posted by EwrRocks
(Post 3608970)
Is 50 or even 100 unfilled Captain vacancies really that big a deal to the company? It does tell you something about how bad the QOL is, but does management really care?
On one hand it doesn’t seem like a number they couldn’t get around, yet in this week FOU they were bending the knee to beg people to bid Captain. Hard for me to figure out how big an issue it practically is. Junior captains are looking at upto 10 years of life on reserve before being able to hold lines in some bases. That’s hard pass for a lot of those who could bid for CA under United’s reserve rules. There needs to be a massive overhaul of reserve rules to support United Next. If there isn’t, planes will start getting sent to the bone yard as the airline stagnates in size. |
Sitting home (actually laying.,) after getting banged up.
Gives me time to look at things and do numbers- 52 FO’s took the upgrade this vacancy. Of which. 10 are “supplemental”.. ie, PI’s? net of 42 new Capts. We were told that we were taking delivery of (roughly) one new aircraft every 3 days.. There is no way we are keeping up with new Captains to fill these new left seats. The only way to operate this new aircraft, absent of a new UPA (which needs to fix NUMEROUS things..) is for the company to work both line holders and reserves to the max of both FAR limits and contractual limits. Congrats on the new Captains… Hope they understand that- Barring a new UPA in the next few months, their lives will be hell- on reserve under these current rules. ESPECIALLY if you commute. IF we have an ILC23 in the next few months.. they will be on reserve for at least the next 2 or 3 years while mid level FO’s bid in, keeping them at the bottom. Gamble either way, hope the wager was worth the reward. Motch |
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