Furloughs = Dealbreaker

[E-TRONS]

M, We are takling about people that you worked with side by side for 13+ years and now they are gone and nobody gives a darn and just scoops up the OT :angry: OT that was made available by their coworkers furlough.

If you still don't get the point then you never will.

 

[ktflyhome]

Just like the Blockholder F/A's are working all and any trips they can hold right now. There are very few trips for the Reserves to be had, except OPR. The company even offered Vacation Flyback for April, which means Blockholders having Vacation can fly on their Vacation, therefore making double their hourly rate, while Rsv's are sitting around. So the company would rather pay a topped out Sr. F/A double on the hour, rather than pay RSV's who make less. Go figure. I have no sympathy for this Company's money problems. :angry:

 

[mweiss]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I get it. There are two clear sides to that argument, and neither side has a monopoly on truth and honor.

For those who have taken significant paycuts, the OT helps offset those cuts. For those who are laid off, the OT turns the formerly "significant" paycuts into 100% paycuts.

FWIW, labor history is littered with many, many instances of people looking out for themselves when push comes to shove, rather than focusing on the collective benefit. Unlike, say, the proletariat/bourgeois battles.

 

[mweiss]

So the company would rather pay a topped out Sr. F/A double on the hour, rather than pay RSV's who make less.

Interesting. Is there some sort of non-monetary compensation that comes into play here? E.g., do reserves get cuts in benefits, or something like that? I ask because I can't think of any other rational argument for this sort of arrangement.

 

[ktflyhome]

No, there Reserves do not get cuts in benefits. We are guaranteed a monthly minimum pay check. I have posted this before, but it works like this. Depending on your option, lets just say 80-85 hr. Non-Option, which is what most Reserves are on, we are guaranteed 71 hours pay for the month. We are speaking in terms of flight time, ok, Michael????? So I have 22hrs. and 30 minutes flight time in for the month and it is the 30th of the Month. There is NO WAY I am going to break guarantee at this point, but I will get paid for 71 hours.

On the other hand, a Blockholder may with their monthly block hours and vacation flyback end up with 110 hours or so pay for the month. At top out scale, because ALL Blockholders, I would guess are topped out with the Company. Top out is 14 years.

I don't blame the Senior people for making all they can right now, that just would be the logical thing to do, in light of our future.

 

[mweiss]

Are the rules set up such that a senior blockholder can take trips away from reserves and get paid the OT? If so, that's truly a horrible rule, especially in light of the minimums you're getting.

 

[ktflyhome]

Michael, of course, they are Senior, therefore, if there is any trip whatsoever that is available, they get priority. That is what seniorty is all about. If and when any trip is available the most senior person in the system has first grabs, if they want. If not, it goes to next junior and on and on and on, til that trip is grabbed up. When all the trips are gone, all that is left is OPR (On Premise Reserve). Which means a reserve F/A (the junior F/A's) are called into Base, via Pit, Clt, Phl, Dca, LGa, whatever to sit a minimum or 4 hours (payed for 3 and 1/2) and await any irregularities. Reserves are there to cover sick calls, irregular operations, extra trips, any coverage that maybe needed. We have hundreds of Reserves at U. It is absolutely stressful for all Reserves. Many of us have spent our entire career here on Reserves, which means sitting by the phone or on a beeper 21 days a month, never knowing where you are going, if you are going, and when you are coming home. As I get older, it becomes even more stressful and I have been doing this for 11 years now. Saddly to say, there are others who have been living this even longer than me. :down:

 

[mweiss]

This is flat-out wrong. Someone has got to enact a rule prohibiting overtime until the reserves meet their minimums. That alone would save substantial amounts of cash.

Ya know, I want to be sympathetic to the union employees. But it's that sort of stuff that makes me lose the sympathy. The most senior blockholders are helping to choke the company, apparently in part because "it's their right." But that sure doesn't make it right.

 

[ktflyhome]

Ironically, most Senior F/A's within the company have No idea what Reserve is all about. they got hire in at the right time. No Fault of their own. Unfortunately, what is transpiring of late is F/A's are at odds against each other, those being Blockholders and those being Reserve. Just one more way for the company to alianate it's workforce against each other.

Think about this. There is a 4 day trip. Three F/A's on a 737-300/400. One is a Senior blockholder having 19 years. Two are Reserves having 15 and 12 years. What a disaster as far as understanding one anothers circumstances. Four years difference between the 19 year F/A vs. 15 year Reserve....a matter of 4 years, yet thousands of dollars and a life of living on the edge. Go figure.

I know one, thing, IF I didn't have my Union right now, I most likely would not have a job at all. On the other hand, if I were to be awarded by my job performance, I think I would be Senior to those above me. Make any sense?????

For those of you reading this, I do not take any respect away for all of you who have paid your dues. I totally understand and my loyalty is with you as well. We are all Flight Attendants..... I hope in Solidarity.

 

[mweiss]

I know one, thing, IF I didn't have my Union right now, I most likely would not have a job at all. On the other hand, if I were to be awarded by my job performance, I think I would be Senior to those above me. Make any sense?????

Yeah, I get it. It's the job performance issue that gets me the most. The seniority system sets up an attitude of entitlement. Over time, that attitude poisons relations and does damage to teamwork.