2014 Fleet Service Discussion

[WeAAsles]

on the DL thread  someone posted that AA could very well exceed DL in financial area   if so and if true  then theres no real reason why we cant get a JCBA with higher wages  better and improved scope medical bonuses etc etc etc in any JCBA contract

I'm POSITIVE that we will Robbed. We just have to get in there and grab it. It's just my opinion but if we don't get in there and get it before the company get's there SOC I'm afraid that we won't wind up getting as much as we could have? The company seems to want to get all the agreements in place before the SOC so they can show the entire world that the New AA is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

They are anticipating on getting the SOC by mid April. I really hope we can get our deal done before that date?

 

[robbedagain]

Agree WeAA but they need to move fast before we know it April and baseball season be back in full swing!

 

[NYer]

 
There are many more important issues to be resolved in JCBA talks IMO. What should we give up, or not get, in order to obtain unlimited swaps for the casual employee? An employee and member who's only agenda is to remain active, to reap medical and flying benefits, but not actually work. I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one robbed. Far too many credible issues need to be resolved in JCBA talks. This issue is low on my priority list.
 

 
Maybe a low priority with US employees, but it is an important issue with AA employees as it helps to supplement everyone's income.

 

[NYer]

I'm not in favor of unlimited DROPS..If you want to buddy bid OK that's fine ...

What I worry about is the health care. ..I hear that the AA guys pay significantly more , we need to focus on that ...

 
That is going to be a huge issue because of the difference in premiums, but also because of the ACA tax on "Cadillac" Plans. The medical issue will be the largest issue in the JCBA.

 

[cltrat]

 
That is going to be a huge issue because of the difference in premiums, but also because of the ACA tax on "Cadillac" Plans. The medical issue will be the largest issue in the JCBA.

yep the ACA the worse thing ever for folks willing or needing the high level insurance.

 

[WeAAsles]

When I hired on we had almost unlimited swaps (CS's) You only had to come to work once a quarter I believe. I practically took up the entire schedule for a guy named Frank Bauers who had a Contractor business. Since I was a new hire making very little it was great because I could earn a decent paycheck by working for this man so much.

Swap shifts seem to be a touchy issue with some because they feel that with those that utilize them to be off the clock so much that their commitment is also not there as well. But maybe we should think about those like myself who benefited greatly from them when I needed to?

Not to mention all the commuters who really need them as well.

 

[NYer]

When I hired on we had almost unlimited swaps (CS's) You only had to come to work once a quarter I believe. I practically took up the entire schedule for a guy named Frank Bauers who had a Contractor business. Since I was a new hire making very little it was great because I could earn a decent paycheck by working for this man so much.

Swap shifts seem to be a touchy issue with some because they feel that with those that utilize them to be off the clock so much that their commitment is also not there as well. But maybe we should think about those like myself who benefited greatly from them when I needed to?

Not to mention all the commuters who really need them as well.

 
It's a mutually beneficial item for those that need or want the time off and those that want to supplement their income, including many PTers that are able to secure a full 40 hours plus.

 

[WeAAsles]

 
It's a mutually beneficial item for those that need or want the time off and those that want to supplement their income, including many PTers that are able to secure a full 40 hours plus.

And for the most part it benefits the company to have a more liberal stance regarding either the policy or the contractual language. Either way the company is going to have to maintain the headcount to handle the operation and for the most part junior employees pick up shifts for more senior employees who are higher up the wage scale.

Restricting the swaps would only serve to put more strain on the station budget then needed, and I'm sure that the company is aware of that.  

 

[WeAAsles]

I think many of you will find this very interesting. APFA President Laura Glading discusses how the merger came out and also brushes on why the swaps (or as they call it moving off the hard 40) is an important piece that needs to remain a part of either our benefits or contractual language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2qfw9rnopQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[ograc]

I think many of you will find this very interesting. APFA President Laura Glading discusses how the merger came out and also brushes on why the swaps (or as they call it moving off the hard 40) is an important piece that needs to remain a part of either our benefits or contractual language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2qfw9rnopQ&feature=youtu.be

WeAAsles,
I listened to Laura's presentation in it's entirety. She states the people she heard from most, concerning improvements to this issue, were hardship cases (i.e. caring for sick parents or children). IMO... the current limits on swaps allows flexibility. I can't speak for the AA side, but on the US side, the casual employee is seldom driven by hardship. For the most part, in Fleet, this is not the case. It is an employee who has gainful employment outside of US, who's only agenda is to stay on the books in order to gain medical/dental coverage and flying privileges. The said employee, exercises their seniority and bids a preferable line on the work schedule, thus denying the junior employee an opportunity to work that line. All the while the said employee has no intention of working the vast majority of their schedule. Am I against the current language that allows this flexibility? No. Do I support improving this language while sacrificing improvements to other critical issues? Absolutely Not! Far too many other issues that need addressed and improved.  

 

[ChockJockey]

It is an employee who has gainful employment outside of US, who's only agenda is to stay on the books in order to gain medical/dental coverage and flying privileges. The said employee, exercises their seniority and bids a preferable line on the work schedule, thus denying the junior employee an opportunity to work that line. All the while the said employee has no intention of working the vast majority of their schedule.

 
When I first started there were unlimited shift drops and a lot of people on the rolls were just there for the flight benefits.  In addition to getting preferable bid lines, they also bumped others when non-revving, took up locker space, and when they actually showed up to put in hours weren't sure how or weren't very willing to do the job.  When they finally started enforcing minimum hours a number of them quit since, as you said, they had gainful employment elsewhere.
 

Am I against the current language that allows this flexibility? No. Do I support improving this language while sacrificing improvements to other critical issues? Absolutely Not! Far too many other issues that need addressed and improved.  

 
Agreed.

 

[ograc]

I'm POSITIVE that we will Robbed. We just have to get in there and grab it. It's just my opinion but if we don't get in there and get it before the company get's there SOC I'm afraid that we won't wind up getting as much as we could have? The company seems to want to get all the agreements in place before the SOC so they can show the entire world that the New AA is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

They are anticipating on getting the SOC by mid April. I really hope we can get our deal done before that date?

 
The company will get SOC by mid April regardless of the status of JCBAs. They don't need agreements in place in order to obtain this. Would they prefer to have agreements in place by April? Absolutely. The question is; are they willing to offer an industry leading contract to the combined Fleet? Time will tell. I don't buy into the argument that coming to an agreement prior to SOC is the best we can, as a collective group, expect or achieve. If the company wants all of the agreements in place prior to SOC what does that tell you? It tells me they anticipate reaping huge profits, after SOC, and all contracts are locked in. I think it would be prudent to be patient rather than anxious. Just my opinion. 
 

 

[Jester]

Oddly enough, former US Airways CEO Stephen Wolf, called the policy of allowing reservation agents to swap (drop?) up to 50% of the shifts as "goofy" and expensive, that according to the article, "In 1996, US Airways was still a high-cost airline, largely because every time the airline had completed a merger, the most generous components of the two previous contracts were retained."  It doesn't strike me as a cost savings for the airline to allow unlimited drops.  In fact, a few months ago, I overheard a couple of AA Management types outside UDO commenting in dismay on the PHX policy of VTO (Voluntary Time Off) which allowed people to request time off and save their drops, thereby keeping the fixed costs of the employee benefits without employee productivity.  In essence, it encouraged overstaffing.
 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2014/10/25/american-airlines-honors-allegheny-the-number-one-merger-airline/

 

[AANOTOK]

The IAM/TWU Association early bickering has this foum and it's supporters pretty silent...
And some of those same supporters have become a bit mute over at the AA forum as well...
Regrouping or possibly even recovering I suppose... B)

 

[freedom]

Don't much care if the association survives or we become TWU ...

Right now I'm more concerned with the fact that PHL and CLT got OT for doing their learning path and PHX gets nothing ...