Area Of Concession?

[diogenes]

We all are aware of the pending overtime language the Labor Department is pimping (Orwell is laughing from his grave - under Bush, it should be retitled the Anti-Labor Department!).

Wonder if this is an area the company will impose?

For those who say it can't happen, read your contract.

There is language that says in effect, this contract will abide by all local, state and federal laws. Given U's gift of contract interpretation, plenty of wiggle room.

This is why many out stations have no FMLA. There are not fifty employees within a 75 mile radius, as stated by the law. The contract reads ..."FMLA will be applied as per federal law..."

And I know ot is a burr under the Palace saddle. Pre-contract, if an agent was wrongfully bypassed for ot, the remedy was for him to work another time. Under the contract, the company had to pay the agent for their mistake (the company calls out ot, not the union). That language went away during concessions, and once again, agents are subsidizing mismanagement, a recurring theme.

 

[28yearsnojob]

:huh: PA state law requires a company to pay overtime only after you work 40 hrs
for the company,this does not include shifttrades and does not include overtime after 8 hrs in 1 day ,you mst work 40 hrs for the company before any overtime is paid so if you work 12hr 1 day and sto 8hrs in the same week those 4 extra hrs are at straight rate,this is a great benifit the iam and cwa got when they put
over 8 in 1 day time and half.However this is why they want to open up the contracts.

 

[700UW]

Dio,

In the law it clealy states it does not affect workers under union contracts. FSLA does not make overtime illegal, it just changes some of the workers who are entilited to overtime pay in non-union jobs.

 

[Flying Titan]

:huh: PA state law requires a company to pay overtime only after you work 40 hrs
for the company,this does not include shifttrades and does not include overtime after 8 hrs in 1 day ,you mst work 40 hrs for the company before any overtime is paid so if you work 12hr 1 day and sto 8hrs in the same week those 4 extra hrs are at straight rate,this is a great benifit the iam and cwa got when they put
over 8 in 1 day time and half.However this is why they want to open up the contracts.

If this were the case in my business, I would want to change this provision, too! OT is a budget buster no matter what type of business you're in. Management should provide proper staffing to avoid having to pay much OT. Overtime should be reserved for emergencies or extraordinary situations. At U, it sounds like OT is a part of day-to-day operations. If this is indeed the case, that's crazy. From the couple of posts listed above, it also sounds like employees expect to be able to pick up OT whenever they want. This may be a nice perk whenever a little extra cash is needed, but this expectation is just as crazy as those who don't provide proper staffing levels.

Personally, I would have gone after this provision in the contracts while the airline was still in Ch. 11 and used some of the savings to provide better staffing levels. The 40-hours before overtime provision is common to most states' laws - and it makes sense. For most people, life is not being turned upside down if they occasionally have to stay at work for an extra hour or two on an especially busy day and still get paid at the same rate. Most employers are also happy to let that same employee leave an hour or two early on a slow day or average day if that person has something special he/she would like to do.

Believe it or not, with proper staffing levels, this give and take actually makes for a higher quality of work environment that is happier and more productive. An understaffed work environment that includes the benefit of lots of OT also carries with it the added baggage of high stress levels, reduced productivity and increased illness...and yes, this does show up in any company's dealings with its customers. Fostering an environment that encourages people to stick around to grab a couple hours of OT as often as they can is expensive on many levels. It's a bad rule and it's bad business. CCY would be right to try to change this. Labor would be right to try to gain improved staffing levels with some of the savings that would be gained.

 

[700UW]

This company is so short staffed they call overtime up the ying/yang to get the flights out. There are days they can't get enough OT takers because people are tired of working.

 

[Harry Callahan]

I will put a big second on that one...........

 

[Kev3188]

Same scenario over at NW....

 

[diogenes]

Flying Titan,
We, at an undisclosed airline, would be quite pleased with your scenario, i.e., proper staffing.

Wanna be our CEO?

700UW,

Man, I hear what you're saying. And you know what I'm saying. Who just had to go to court to prevent outsourcing? Our undisclosed airline doesn't even treat labor contracts as suggestions.

And fleet is not near so sanguine as mechs regarding any contractual 'rights' we have - they can disappear like a sneeze in the breeze!

 

[700UW]

I don't even think Dave or Jerry is that stupid to mess with wages, they would be in violation of even more federal laws, I think that is a fight they don't even want to take on.

We have proved them wrong on ADA and FMLA, their track record with Federal Laws is not too swift.

 

[28yearsnojob]

:down: fmla the most abused federal law ever enacted,dems will put all business out of business .

 

[N628AU]

OT used wisely is actually a benefit to a company's bottom line. You can cover shifts without the costs of HR and benefits for hiring additional employees. Believe me, they may be paying one employee more, but if the company gave out Employee Benefit Statements, showing how much each employee gets (value in dollars of vacation, health coverage, etc), one would see how much they actually save.

 

[28yearsnojob]

if you can find somebody to work

 

[robbedagain]

republ. will actually put us all out of busniess by raising the oil prices and we all know usair cant even afford to abide by our own contracts!!!!

 

[EightySix]

If this were the case in my business, I would want to change this provision, too! OT is a budget buster no matter what type of business you're in. Management should provide proper staffing to avoid having to pay much OT. Overtime should be reserved for emergencies or extraordinary situations. At U, it sounds like OT is a part of day-to-day operations. If this is indeed the case, that's crazy. From the couple of posts listed above, it also sounds like employees expect to be able to pick up OT whenever they want. This may be a nice perk whenever a little extra cash is needed, but this expectation is just as crazy as those who don't provide proper staffing levels.

Personally, I would have gone after this provision in the contracts while the airline was still in Ch. 11 and used some of the savings to provide better staffing levels. The 40-hours before overtime provision is common to most states' laws - and it makes sense. For most people, life is not being turned upside down if they occasionally have to stay at work for an extra hour or two on an especially busy day and still get paid at the same rate. Most employers are also happy to let that same employee leave an hour or two early on a slow day or average day if that person has something special he/she would like to do.

Believe it or not, with proper staffing levels, this give and take actually makes for a higher quality of work environment that is happier and more productive. An understaffed work environment that includes the benefit of lots of OT also carries with it the added baggage of high stress levels, reduced productivity and increased illness...and yes, this does show up in any company's dealings with its customers. Fostering an environment that encourages people to stick around to grab a couple hours of OT as often as they can is expensive on many levels. It's a bad rule and it's bad business. CCY would be right to try to change this. Labor would be right to try to gain improved staffing levels with some of the savings that would be gained.

That is why UAir has some res agents making 75k yearly and I know of several. The company closed nearly all the offices, sent the junior least paid employees packing and have kept nearly constant overtime since. I hard work any overtime and I made 46k last year picking up some double time here and there. 40 bucks an hour isn't too bad. Of course the cost of paying overtime used to be not nearly as much as extra headcount in res but the benefits have been cut so badly I don't know why the company doesn't hire more junior agents and provide some incentive for the senior employees to retire ( there are many res agent approaching 35-40 years of service, I don't know what they are sticking around for)!

 

[Harry Callahan]

There is a fleet service agent I know of who made over $90.000 last year & he has a masters degree. Says because of the ot he could not make that much elsewhere.
My own opinion on overtime "just say no"..