JCBA Negotiations and updates for AA Fleet

[WeAAsles]

Weez do you believe in the theory of evolution?

Yes 100%. I believe in Science. Not ancient Fairy Tales.

And we both like a band called the Dropkick Murphy's much to the annoyance of a mutual Italian friend.

 

[WeAAsles]

Weez are you kidding about a test with us it's just seniority and don't be on any levels. why do you think they have leads with such low seniority

If I understand it your Leads are told by management how the plane needs to be loaded and if there's any problem they have to get back to the manager who assigns them or finalizes the load? Am I correct?

If that's the case why would a test be needed then? Like I said all Leads are is Gophers then.

Again we have Crew Chiefs or in other jobs they would be called Shop Foreman. And you have Lead Clerks.

 

[robbedagain]

yes Bob we do have our differences but its good to hash it out in our station at least for next 3 months..April to June we do not have the Flex flight Bob our bids are based on flight schedule smaller cities like mine we have 4 FT lines for bag room; 21 FT lines, 2 Lav lines, and 5 Mail and Freight lines though 1 Lav and 2 ML/FT are partially on ramp when not performing the other duties

WeAA only 1 Catering agent and our only union shop steward and the station manager do the bid they don't want us to give our imputs in particular the mid and night shifts That's truly where we need the help at And its going to get shorter as 3 agents are in line to depart to various cities So what our station mgr does is creates the bid based on flights yet makes lines to cover up our short staffing

 

[WeAAsles]

yes Bob we do have our differences but its good to hash it out in our station at least for next 3 months..April to June we do not have the Flex flight Bob our bids are based on flight schedule smaller cities like mine we have 4 FT lines for bag room; 21 FT lines, 2 Lav lines, and 5 Mail and Freight lines though 1 Lav and 2 ML/FT are partially on ramp when not performing the other duties

WeAA only 1 Catering agent and our only union shop steward and the station manager do the bid they don't want us to give our imputs in particular the mid and night shifts That's truly where we need the help at And its going to get shorter as 3 agents are in line to depart to various cities So what our station mgr does is creates the bid based on flights yet makes lines to cover up our short staffing

Ouch Robbed. Honestly it's stories like that that tell me why I'm just more comfortable working in Hubs.

 

[cltrat]

If I understand it your Leads are told by management how the plane needs to be loaded and if there's any problem they have to get back to the manager who assigns them or finalizes the load? Am I correct?

If that's the case why would a test be needed then? Like I said all Leads are is Gophers then.

Again we have Crew Chiefs or in other jobs they would be called Shop Foreman. And you have Lead Clerks.

you have no idea what the hell you're talking about. I pull a load plan off that scanner just like your crew chief does who btw gets .59 more than I while apparently doing less I also finalize it a manager has nothing to do with it

 

[WeAAsles]

you have no idea what the hell you're talking about. I pull a load plan off that scanner just like your crew chief does who btw gets .59 more than I while apparently doing less I also finalize it a manager has nothing to do with it

Take a chill pill Rat. That's why I asked it as a question. So who gives you your job assignments then? Another lead or a manager?

Do you have to feed bags or get in the belly to load or offload. How many people are usually with you when you load an aircraft? 2 or 3? Are you also a part of the push crew?

 

[cltrat]

I am responsible for a given gate each day, that gate rotates within the team I bid, an assign lead assigns agents to flights for each gate. what ever flights come to that gate are mine.
a usual will be me and three agents there could be more if it's a heavy a321 with a lot of mail an freight in the front. I don't have to get in the bin very often but I am often on the belt loader put that mail or etc in a cart. If the agent running the locals has a lot, I may start feeding bags on the belt to the other two agents.
Then there's that trip to the computer the check that damn NOTOC each flight
The three agents push the plane

 

[WeAAsles]

I am responsible for a given gate each day, that gate rotates within the team I bid, an assign lead assigns agents to flights for each gate. what ever flights come to that gate are mine.
a usual will be me and three agents there could be more if it's a heavy a321 with a lot of mail an freight in the front. I don't have to get in the bin very often but I am often on the belt loader put that mail or etc in a cart. If the agent running the locals has a lot, I may start feeding bags on the belt to the other two agents.
Then there's that trip to the computer the check that damn NOTOC each flight
The three agents push the plane

Ok not really too different from us then. In smaller cities from what I hear they're pretty comparable to what you just described. Here in MIA we have currently 4 man crews and the CC.

This is the usual routine we devised on my gate that works for us. Flight comes in Crew gets the chocks and puts on the huff and tow bar. I drag out the water hose while they start the front. I come up to the front where our CC is scanning and bring up any escorts. Then I bring back in the water hose when it's done and wait to dump the back belly if there are bags. Our CC does the scanning for the whole flight.

We do one belly at a time with a Powerstow and 2 guys rotate turns in the front. One guy dumps and the other guy helps the Local runner.

I keep hearing there are differences between the CC and Leads but so far I'm not hearing too much that's different at least not substantially?

But you bid the crew (team) you want to work with where we Clerks bid behind the CC and get to pick to work with him or not. But we do bid one gate.

 

[cltrat]

no I don't bid the crew I get unfortunately, the assign lead chooses that

 

[robbedagain]

WeAA I believe that we are safe at least for now I think we may be a ok for the foreseeable future My concern is what could happen after this JCBA becomes amendable I don't want to think the worse but I would rather be prepared for it

 

[WeAAsles]

WeAA I believe that we are safe at least for now I think we may be a ok for the foreseeable future My concern is what could happen after this JCBA becomes amendable I don't want to think the worse but I would rather be prepared for it

You see Robbed that's just what I'm talking about. I'm not saying that Hubs can't be closed too because it has happened in the past. But Hubs just do have much more security than staying in small stations where you're always on edge wondering if one day the hammer might drop and you're left scrambling.

I think if you have a family and your kids aren't in High School yet it's just a good idea to maybe consider moving somewhere where that family of yours can feel more secure? We make a great living now and people would kill to be in our shoes so we do now have the financial flexibility to consider other places to live.

If it is still about cost of living though we have two Hubs that accommodate that in CLT and DFW. Personally I would pick CLT as it has some real natural beauty surrounding it (If I wasn't happy here in South Florida myself) To the CLT readers though get ready. I hear a lot of LAA guys are really chomping at the bit to get in there.

Anyway Robbed think about this. We are basically Blessed to be in a job where we can consider these other options. Most of my friends back in NYC are stuck there and not having an easy go of it (One is finally moving here now and will be looking for a new job YAAAA)

 

[WeAAsles]

no I don't bid the crew I get unfortunately, the assign lead chooses that

Any CC or Lead should have the ability to be able to perform the job and the responsibilities that come along with it. The problem is in people person skills where some people just shouldn't be in those shoes.

A Crew can make or break a CC and frankly some CC's (Leads) deserve to be broken if they don't have the ability to treat their team with dignity and respect and in turn of course expect them to do the job (safely) that the Company compensates them for.

I've had by far mostly good CC's in my career but for the few bad apples I'm the first one who will lead the charge to mutiny against them. I refuse to help a man keep his job who has no concern about mine or my crews safety and is willing to see us get hurt if it keeps HIM secure or he's a suck up. I also refuse (unless I deserve it) to be spoken to in an unprofessional manner.

It's debatable whether or not a CC should bid before a Crew I guess if we have to worry about those bad Leaders? But it can also be said that if a CC can't handle any crew that comes his way then maybe he has no business being a CC in the first place?

Maybe something to be said for occasional CC evaluations? Thoughts?

 

[robbedagain]

if any hub faces closure or down sizing I think PHX would be it being a single parent to my special needs son he is in the 8th grade if theres going to be downsizing I don't think it will happen unless oil prices dramatically rises to above 100 a barrel and airlines lose heavy money that's why I feel very safe at least for the foreseeable future weve got some LAA folks and LUS folks heading to CLT though the LAA guy have to wait til there is a JCBA

 

[WeAAsles]

if any hub faces closure or down sizing I think PHX would be it being a single parent to my special needs son he is in the 8th grade if theres going to be downsizing I don't think it will happen unless oil prices dramatically rises to above 100 a barrel and airlines lose heavy money that's why I feel very safe at least for the foreseeable future weve got some LAA folks and LUS folks heading to CLT though the LAA guy have to wait til there is a JCBA

I would seriously continue to monitor the situation when it comes to PHX Robbed. I don't believe in sugar coating anything because if people ignore the warning signs and live with blinders on that's how they get hurt.

Ignore the things Management tells you and keep a keen eye on your flight activities there and how much revenue the company is earning. Keep an eye on those load factors as well. You want those flights packed to the gills.

Remember when the merger was happening all the airline analysts put the target on PHX. Again don't listen to what Management tells you cause they don't care about you or your best interests.

We have a lot of commuters in the AA system who were told by management in the past "Oh no this city is fine, go ahead and buy that house"

Just keep your eye on the ball my Brother.

 

[WeAAsles]

BTW Robbed "IMO" again just "IMO" if you're in the 50% range in your city by seniority I think you'll be fine?