Check out my reserve flight attendant blog...

[N109UW]

Flightchic and everyone one else who is interested lets pick a date and meet there is a meeting in CLT MEC) jan 22-24 that I plan on going to I want the company to know we are just sitting (i thing they are really in the dark) how I have been told that some f/a need to get food stamps .......anyway we could meet anywhere but the airport (legality issues guys) so anyplace where it's convinient to those who dont have a car ( i could pick some of you guys up) i will just come prepared (bring uniform ect) so I think we need to move it. we need to draft a petion anyway chick, i sent you my number call me dont want to put too much on board and I had to lock down my blog.......reasons ill will let you all know when we meet.
K

There were meetings in CLT in Oct and Nov. Did you go to either of those? Pat Freind was at the Nov. meeting. She said she didn't realize how bad it was. There were only about 4 RSV's at the Nov meeting with about 20 overall. A few of those were just f/a's checking in for trips and just stopped by. Pat must of had a odd sense about things, being that no showed up.

 

[flightattend21]

http://www.afausairways.org/Eline/jul18_07.htm

RESERVE

There is simply no other way to put it- the Reserve system is beyond horrible. There is no one who knows that more than the members of Master Executive Council. All of your Local Presidents and the MEC Officers know the havoc and difficulties the Reserve population endures. We know this because all of us deal with Reserve issues every day. We know this because we all receive emails and phone calls from angry and frustrated Reserves.

The simple fact is this- we are working under a ratified agreement. :down: The Company has no incentive to change the Reserve system outside of single agreement negotiations. :down: The MEC has worked very hard to make as many changes as the Company would agree to after the FAA 24/7 ruling. We have been successful in some areas but not in as many as you (or us) would like. I have heard from two Reserves in the last few days that both made the same comment, "you are not going to change anything because you are not a Reserve and it does not affect you".

Nothing could be farther from the truth. If the MEC could change the system tomorrow we would. There is nothing for the MEC or the JNC to gain by not changing the Reserve system.

Human nature is what it is-people often only care about what directly affects them. Leaders of any kind, political, civic or Union can't, or at least, shouldn't think that way. I can assure you that I don't think that way and I am sure no one else on the MEC thinks that way. The reason is in the first line of this paragraph-by virtue of our jobs as leaders, the Reserve system does directly affect us.

Every time a Reserve calls one of us we are directly affected.
Every time a Reserve sends one of us an email we are directly affected.
Every time a Reserve talks to one of us on a flight we are directly affected.

There is no Lineholder against Reserve mentality on either the MEC or the JNC. Both groups have concerns that we need to address. Both groups have concerns that WE WILL address


ONLY stating opinions

I have mike's letter
The biggest issues are Seniority, some type of Reserve Shift system, vacation pay above guarantee, Out Of Base OPR, more days off and a higher guarantee.
I do not believe anything that contains a rotating system will ratify and neither will anything that contains LTO. This is a negotiated process so we will be aiming very high in our proposals but we do believe any system will have to be contain a way for Reserves to earn a living and not have to work days off to do it.
Mike
MIKE FLORES
US AIRWAYS MEC PRESIDENT
AFA-CWA

biggest issues are Seniority? some type of RESERVE.......I do not believe a rotating will ratify??
hmm instead of doing these "side letters" behind closed doors bring it to the members NOW more of us than any other group YOU MIKE dont think WE RESERVES will ratify will vote to do something with the reserve system? think again MIKE YOU are sadly mistaken

 

[EMBFA]

I don't give a s**t what you think will ratify, Mike Flores. Or what your buddies will vote for. How dare you. We pay dues and are your membership.

We'll tell you what we want and will ratify what we want, not the other way around.

 

[beachboy]

I don't give a s**t what you think will ratify, Mike Flores. Or what your buddies will vote for. How dare you. We pay dues and are your membership.

We'll tell you what we want and will ratify what we want, not the other way around.

And there is the Golden Ticket. EMB has it and you guys must follow it! You are the union! Step it up or be yesterdays road kill!

 

[flybynite]

Jesus...I've been reading this board and I'm not sure what the hell you think you are going to do....Crucify Mike Flores??

Hell, I'm on reserve too but flaying Mike will not change a thing. We're stuck with a contract that the company doesn't want to amend. And while I'm at it, the block holders are not your enemy. Or at least the majority anyway. There are a few that could give a rat's ass about your issues but not all.

I hate this reserve system with every corpuscle in my body yet I know nothing will change until a new combined contract is ratified. So instead of bellyaching on this forum...make your list and present it to the union so they know what you want and need. (And don't be an ass about it. Your union reps are your friend.) I'm sure they already know. And let them take it from there. The last time I looked, that was the process.

Instead of jumping all over the union, why don't you jump all over the company for this draconian reserve system???

 

[beachboy]

flybynight,
We jump all over the company by giving our AFA leadership direction. That starts with your local officers all the way to the MECP. You know that. We are suppose to speak as ONE GROUP! Right? Lets not start handing the Dial soap out to AFA yet. They wanted the seat well sit the heck down and start the job! Enough crap.

 

[sharonstoneseat]

If the union is saying that rotating reserve will not ratify I doubt that they are even putting it on the table.

I want an explanation in detail as to why they are not a strongly supporting rotating reserve or PBS and I don't want tired old arguments trotted out about how they looked at it before. I want it looked at again and again in the framework of 2008's economic and operational climate and I resent that a union official has stated a prejudice against it without explanation. Believes it won't ratify? That is only half a sentence and begs the question.....Why Not? And the answer is??????? That they are systems that are much more equitable, which is why West Pilots and other airlines use them, but we won't because our "senior" F/A's have no interest in a better system unless it improves only their already very good position.

West Lineholders, well the industry has changed dramatically but their work reality has only improved it seems in every area but pay. Remember to us, lineholders are F/A's who work as much or as little as they want with the ability to go to 40 hours a month or 10 hours a week if you want to look at it that way, with full benefits. There are now so many reserves out West that company assigned flying time has been greatly reduced since October and now we are flying on our days off and starting to sit home more on our duty days in the midst of Camp DPU. So to our East Reserve counterparts, we feel your pain and support you.

As we see it...this contract better be all about the reserves as that is where improvement is needed. The union should be intelligent and visionary this time around without any semblence of the cronyism that got us the contract that we have now.

And again, when the winter weather hits and you need volunteers....who you gonna call?

 

[flightattend21]

There were meetings in CLT in Oct and Nov. Did you go to either of those? Pat Freind was at the Nov. meeting. She said she didn't realize how bad it was. There were only about 4 RSV's at the Nov meeting with about 20 overall. A few of those were just f/a's checking in for trips and just stopped by. Pat must of had a odd sense about things, being that no showed up.

I go to all the PHL meetings (I took off work one time) do I go to the CLT meeting? NO I do not
However I will go to the next one in JAN so I can hear AGAIN from MIKE how "yes reserve is bad" but we cannot change it shuffle" I call them write letters, written to my legislators what have you done? and by the way I wrote to PAT last year and 2 months ago I guess she does not read her mail either....
one other thing why all these meetings sith doug parker only in clt and phx? what PHL not big enough base?

 

[flightattend21]

Jesus...I've been reading this board and I'm not sure what the hell you think you are going to do....Crucify Mike Flores??

Hell, I'm on reserve too but flaying Mike will not change a thing. We're stuck with a contract that the company doesn't want to amend. And while I'm at it, the block holders are not your enemy. Or at least the majority anyway. There are a few that could give a rat's ass about your issues but not all.

I hate this reserve system with every corpuscle in my body yet I know nothing will change until a new combined contract is ratified. So instead of bellyaching on this forum...make your list and present it to the union so they know what you want and need. (And don't be an ass about it. Your union reps are your friend.) I'm sure they already know. And let them take it from there. The last time I looked, that was the process.

Instead of jumping all over the union, why don't you jump all over the company for this draconian reserve system???

If you sit in the big seat you better be able to take the blame or do something about it. MIke has time and again refused to help reserves. he has only given lip service. ask him how he let "summer help" come to phl against contract because he decided to make a "close door deal" do you know our PHL president had no say in this? do you know the other base presidents said "well our senior people" want to fly internatinal..guess what in the contract it states you have to transfer to that base. so senior people got their way again even against contract. people who would have held blocks in their own base PHL lost out. so the money they could have made was lost. let me state again I AM against the contract and the way it works lopside, not against anyone else. I want all to be able to lead a quality of life to pay their bills.

 

[theFLYonthewall]

If the union is saying that rotating reserve will not ratify I doubt that they are even putting it on the table.

I want an explanation in detail as to why they are not a strongly supporting rotating reserve or PBS and I don't want tired old arguments trotted out about how they looked at it before. I want it looked at again and again in the framework of 2008's economic and operational climate and I resent that a union official has stated a prejudice against it without explanation. Believes it won't ratify? That is only half a sentence and begs the question.....Why Not? And the answer is??????? That they are systems that are much more equitable, which is why West Pilots and other airlines use them, but we won't because our "senior" F/A's have no interest in a better system unless it improves only their already very good position.

West Lineholders, well the industry has changed dramatically but their work reality has only improved it seems in every area but pay. Remember to us, lineholders are F/A's who work as much or as little as they want with the ability to go to 40 hours a month or 10 hours a week if you want to look at it that way, with full benefits. There are now so many reserves out West that company assigned flying time has been greatly reduced since October and now we are flying on our days off and starting to sit home more on our duty days in the midst of Camp DPU. So to our East Reserve counterparts, we feel your pain and support you.

As we see it...this contract better be all about the reserves as that is where improvement is needed. The union should be intelligent and visionary this time around without any semblence of the cronyism that got us the contract that we have now.

And again, when the winter weather hits and you need volunteers....who you gonna call?

Reserves alone cannot ratify anything. The number of blockholders out number the reserves, when ratifying anything majority rules. Did anyone see the amount of transfers available for DCA for February? I'm sure many many reserves in PHL can hold a block there. Its only going to get worse for PHL beginning March 1.

 

[flightattend21]

Reserves alone cannot ratify anything. The number of blockholders out number the reserves, when ratifying anything majority rules. Did anyone see the amount of transfers available for DCA for February? I'm sure many many reserves in PHL can hold a block there. Its only going to get worse for PHL beginning March 1.

Let me get this straight b/h outnumber reserves? and the b/h will vote for what? what do you think we here are talking about? we want to have fairness a quality of life and these b/h would vote against that??? what we are asking for is to change the reserve system to something we could live with, like all the other major lines. we are not asking for someone who has seniority to give up anything. and yet you write the majority will not vote in a better reserve system that would not affect them? NICE to know when the b/h can do something good and it would not cost them they would still try to keep us down. I will print this letter and show all my b/h friends and ask them is it true? even if it did not hurt you / you would choose not to better our life???

 

[theFLYonthewall]

Let me get this straight b/h outnumber reserves? and the b/h will vote for what? what do you think we here are talking about? we want to have fairness a quality of life and these b/h would vote against that??? what we are asking for is to change the reserve system to something we could live with, like all the other major lines. we are not asking for someone who has seniority to give up anything. and yet you write the majority will not vote in a better reserve system that would not affect them? NICE to know when the b/h can do something good and it would not cost them they would still try to keep us down. I will print this letter and show all my b/h friends and ask them is it true? even if it did not hurt you / you would choose not to better our life???

FYI I am on reserve, consider myself a career reserve thank you very much. My response was to your post quoting Flores that a rotating reserve would not be ratified, of course it will not because the blockholders out number the reserves they will never vote that in. You missed my entire point. You are so bitter and angry you can't see anyone elses point of view. Believe it or not there are some of us on reserve that understand what a contract means, this LTO system sucks we all know it the union knows it. The union will negoiate a better reserve system in the new agreement until then we have to live with it. I'm not saying we have to like it, but the company has said on more then one occassion they will not change the current reserve system outside of a new agreement. The union can and has presented the company numerous times with proposals to enhance/change this LTO the company will not do it.

 

[SKY HIGH]

Let me get this straight b/h outnumber reserves? and the b/h will vote for what? what do you think we here are talking about? we want to have fairness a quality of life and these b/h would vote against that??? what we are asking for is to change the reserve system to something we could live with, like all the other major lines. we are not asking for someone who has seniority to give up anything. and yet you write the majority will not vote in a better reserve system that would not affect them? NICE to know when the b/h can do something good and it would not cost them they would still try to keep us down. I will print this letter and show all my b/h friends and ask them is it true? even if it did not hurt you / you would choose not to better our life???

SKY HIGH States: Mike KNOWS he'll never get Blockholders to go on rotating reserve. For a blockholder to go on reserve is concessionary! Is anyone in this company interested in MORE GIVE BACKS????? Pref Bidding is your best hope to create more blocks. But.....that doesnt improve the quality of life for "all reserves" either.

Side note: I'm all for having Pref.


only stating opinions

 

[galley princess]

I am not going to get into the debate about what would be a good RES system, or whether anything you do will elicit any action, given the fact that the company is just not negotiating right now, but there are 2 things that you CAN do.

1/ NO SUMMER HELP. That is outrageous. I really didn't pay attention this past summer, so I am guilty, but it should definitely not be repeated this summer.

2/ Deluge John McCorkle with emails about the lack of a VPLOA offered in January, and most likely, most of the winter. He is under the misconception that PHL is short staffed. There are a lot of senior people that would take the winter off if allowed to. Given the new tanking of ticket prices policy by the new US, winter is no longer cake flying time and some senior people, for example from PIT might just take all the leaves they can.

I am of the "pick the battles you can win" variety. The fact that this thread is so excoriating is evidence of the increasing desperation of the reserves. Maybe you will achieve something, at the very least you might get more attention to the problem.

 

[SKY HIGH]

We'll tell you what we want and will ratify what we want, not the other way around.

SKY high states: WOW, YOU'RE RIGHT. The "MAJORITY" WILL NOT WANT ROTATING RESERVE...AND YES, WE'LL RATIFY THAT.

only stating opinions