After talking to a few of our negotiators out on the line, here is what I can report (second hand) regarding reserve and the AIP.
1. Most negotiators view reserve as a temporary stopping point in your career. Reserve improvements aren't deemed that high of a priority by the union to spend negotiating capital on them.

2. Keeping in mind point one above, the union did bring up reserve rules during the negotiating process of the new AIP. We evidently brought up 4 or 5 points of contention, and the company hit us with 15-17 points where management wanted the so-called "improvement". So, it was deemed wise to shelve the idea of reseve improvements so we didn't have to give anything back.


A few points of clarification to the union though. Reserve is not necessarily a temporary speed bump in a pilots career.

1. The merger happened. It forced many former CAL pilots to permanent reserve.

2. The company's fleet plans have drastically changed on the B756 and in various domiciles. Reserve is now the new normal for many pilots with no end in sight.

3. Depending on where you are, every time you change fleets and/or upgrade on various fleets you could be on reserve all over again. When I went from B737 FO to B756 FO, I was on reserve. When I went from B756 FO to B777 FO, I was on reserve. I think it's more of the natural progression. You could end up on reserve for 2 to 3 years every time you change fleets. With current hiring, it looks like maybe 1 to 2 years on the wide bodies, and off fairly quickly maybe 6 to 9 months on the narrow bodies.

4. The company uses allot of trickery and smooth talking when doing reserve assignments. There are no penalties that kick in when the company does this. If a pilot wants to hold scheduling accountable it is next to impossible.

Bingo on #1... The guys/gals negotiating are looking primarily at Lineholder improvements as it benefits the majority... Not saying it's right... Just the reality of this profession.

On your #3, nobody forces you to bid to a new fleet before your seniority makes you a line holder. That is a personal choice, you are choosing money over Schedule.

Bidding even allows you to put a minimum percent. If you don't want to sit reserve why would you even put in a bid less than 70%? I do understand that occasionally there are crazy things like what's happening in the 756 fleet during all this BAT crap, but most of the time you won't be on reserve if you're not in the bottom 30% in BES.

With that said, I too would like to have seen some reserve improvements. From what I've heard and read though, it seems the company's letter of "reserve scheduling improvements" was they wanted more flexibility, not improvements for pilots. So while we may not have gotten any improvements, neither did the company from what's been leaked.

Hopefully next week we'll have all the actual info after the MEC meeting.

All those too-junior-to-hold-captain LCAL guys that snagged captain seats just before the merger, did it to themselves. Several are friends of mine, and I'm happy that at their age they're making bank and live in base and can sit reserve for the next 15 years... but I've told them point blank they did it to themselves.

I would make a snarky comment about the SLI result and if knowing it would turn out the way it did and how that would affect people's decision to bid.

But then after seeing the 3,000+ seniority 787 CAs and 9,000+ seniority 787 FOs knowing the fence was about to fall and those guys still bid it, I think those 73 CAs would have still grabbed those seats to lock them in while they could even knowing the SLI result in advance.

"Many"?? longest freeze i know of is 2 years. - so unless they were 63 years old they could in fact bid to a position that enabled them to be a line holder at their seniority.

With IAD losing DBX and KWI next month, there will likely be scores of guys on reserve who normally held a line. I hope they "chose" to live close to the drome!

Guys, stirring the pot. I know many of you have made up your minds, many have not. We still really don't have concrete facts to base arguments.

However, I have been talking, yes actually picked up the phone and called, to my reps. I would encourage each of you to do the same. Get the facts.

The first hurdle of the TA is whether is gets the approval of the MEC. Get the facts, provide direction to your LEC reps. Get involved. I have done that, have you? Then, as a collective MEC, they will vote whether to send the TA to the membership for a vote. Provide your input and give direction yes, or no.

Dave

How do we give direction when we don't know what's in it?

So here is my direction anyway:

If you, the MEC, think the negotiators did not get the best deal possible, or that our current leverage can be parlayed into a quicker than usual section six with vastly greater improvements, then vote it down. But please tell me that you have a plan. Then, I will support your decision and back you up.

If you send it to the membership, however, you are essentially telling me that this is the best there is, and you have no plan for getting something better soon. And I will likely vote for it.

Do not send it to us with the warning of "it's up to you to decide if this is better than section 6." That is the Union's call, that is what you are there for. You know how the vote will go if you pass it to us.