UAL Reserve Question
 

At my former carrier, a reserve was under no obligation to be contactable on a day off. Thus, on your first day of a long call reserve shift, the earliest you could be given an assignment was noon. (I.e., contacted at midnight for a noon report.)

My understanding of the UAL policy is that even on a day off, you can still be assigned something for the following day of long call reserve. For example, if I am off today and begin long call tomorrow at the stroke of midnight, they can still call me today for say a 9am flight or short call conversion, and this is considered a legitimate assignment. Do I have that right?

It's my understanding that you must check your schedule on CCS after 1500 to check if you have been assigned something. They can't assign you a short call coming off a day off.

You unfortunatley have it right. This is one of several things that needs improved in the next contract! Short call conversions are another. Don't even get me started on global reserve. With senior guys making up the negotiating committee, I doubt they even remember reserve so it may not be a priority.

On last day off before reserve you have to check your schedule after 1800. If something assigned before 1800 earliest showtime or shortcall is 1000. If nothing there at 1800 then you go on long call at midnight as scheduled. Long call is 12 hours to show.

Do not answer your phone on your last day off. They can call you at midnight for a 1000 SC on your first day of reserve.

Contract say a reserve on his last day off must check their schedule 1800-0059.

However, 117 came along and the company has to now insert a 1 minute duty period at midnight because checking your schedule is considered duty and they can't assign you duty on a day off.

So big picture, no duty: flight, Short Call or field standby, should require you to report(or start a SC) before 1000. If assigned after 1800, no assignment will require you to show(trip report or Fld Stby) or begin SC earlier than noon.

The big gotcha comes if you answer a call from Scheds after 1800, then all bets are off. So never, ever, answer your phone, let it go to VM. It has been successfully argued pretty much every time that when no two way comms have been established after 1800, they cannot sneak in a early AM SC.

It is highly advisable to screenshot your master sched promptly at 1800, then do not answer your phone until midnight.

It's pretty sad that we have to behave in that manner. (not answer our phones)

Our current reserve system is similar to L-UALs system post 06 or so. Every other change before that to the reserve system made it worse. The current one is actually pretty good. Maybe borderline outstanding.
It may not be the best system out there, but I will take it, and do bid reserve about half the time. By choice.

Reserve sucks when they are short, no matter what system we use.

Last Saturday (my last day off) I was called at 12:45 Central and assigned 11:00am Eastern short call on day 1 of the reserve sequence. This was completely legit per the UPA. I never answer the phone on a day off or off duty period. I always let it go to VM. Been trained that way from the regional world.

It may not be the worst system out there, but I disagree that this system is anywhere near outstanding. It is so complicated it is a second job just to understand what you must do and what you can't do. We shouldn't be responsible for anything on a day off period. As a global reserve all but one block of days off (6 day block) can be rolled and restored where ever the company feels like it would benefit them most. With one block of days off having to be 6 days (per 117 regs I think) that leaves several 2 day off blocks for the rest of the month. Good luck having any kind of life at home commuting back and forth on 2 days off. These blocks are the ones that can be rolled btw so don't make any plans.

Also Probe, I respect your opinion, but if you indeed do bid reserve, you are the first person I have talked to actually on reserve that likes the rules.