Maintenance Staffing Discussion

[AOG-N-IT]

Hmmm,

This sounds like my time in PIT all right , We use to lose hangar mechanics to the PIT line quite frequently after the cuts started taking place. More than a few occassions we would have maybe 5 or 6 mechanics working a B737-300/400 Q-Check in Hangar 2 because of this.

I know de-icing season is a different animal , yet it still boils down to the same root problem. Management has cut things into the bone and we simply do not have the staffing to handle things in an efficient manner. According to them , it's all the IAM's fault when ETR is delayed on a heavy maintenance visit too.

My opinion is Frank is running scared...a case of "When walking on Egg Shells , Don't Hop " This will never bid well for the rank and file worker..nor will it ever prove the point that's obvious to everyone except those with the power to reverse this negative trend.

Tomorrows ruling in the PHL court should prove to be very intersting...I sense an IAM victory in this case....yet I'm very concerned of the reaction that "Bugsy Siegel" is going to have to it. I fear that he's going to do something that will net the entire airline another major setback just to make his point of who's still in charge of the Titanic... I only wish we had the salvage rights to this disaster in the works.

 

[delldude]

don't expect a ruling tomorrow or even this week.i believe they have up to 60 days to render an opinion.unless of course they feel its a slam dunk for either side.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

don't expect a ruling tomorrow or even this week.i believe they have up to 60 days to render an opinion.unless of course they feel its a slam dunk for either side.

Dell,
Then what is exactly the point of tomorrows date then??? I was under the distinct impression that both sides of the case has already been presented....is this not the time for this to reach and end?

Oh I forgot..the budget on none operations oriented spending has not been exceeded yet. The lawyers are in need of more money to start off the calendar year with a bang at our expense.

 

[delldude]

AOG-last month both sides presented written briefs.
tomorrow 3rd circuit will hear oral arguements...then render their opinion.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

AOG-last month both sides presented written briefs.
tomorrow 3rd circuit will hear oral arguements...then render their opinion.

Oral huh? That's putting the cart before the horse.

You have to ask yourself from our perspective , How much more need be said on this subject? The contract is either iron clad or it isn't....reading it should not require an oral arguement at all.

I hope they don't take forever with this...time is not something we have plenty of.

Thanks for the insight on this.

 

[delldude]

anytime AOG...after they've had a month to read and digest this,it would be nice to view the expression on their faces as they listen to each sides presentation and go from there.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

anytime AOG...after they've had a month to read and digest this,it would be nice to view the expression on their faces as they listen to each sides presentation and go from there.

I would love to have the time to be sitting in that courtroom to watch this un-fold..yet un-like some , I have a responsibility to try to keep our planes flying and making revenue.

I guess CCY is going to have to budget for some additional chocks and ramp space in GYR while this plays out.

Many may wonder why I see this as a problem at this point? Well in a nutshell here it is.

We were damned fortunate to get through the holiday season with a shrinking fleet...and to be able to post respectable numbers of near a 73% load factor for December 2003.

We are now in the clutches of the lean season for air travel...and this is precisely the time that timed out aircraft need to be in our hangars being worked. We will likley win our court case...yet lose the opprotunity to be able to face WN in the spring with a full compliment of aircraft in May. I guess I'm one of the few that sees us going further backwards in terms of atempting to remain viable in this industry. Hell jst threaten to sell of assets , that's the answer.

My bad....I forgot that MAA is going to be inching on to the scene in March...that should offset all the other giant steps in reverse nicely

 

[delldude]

i've been reading up as of late on the subject of computers and artificial intelligence.this intrigues me to no end.however i found that there have been several programs and funded studies in the area called "artificial stupidity" and i think i saw one of the major funders was RSA... well its my honest opinion that they tried out this new programming feature just last week...i must say it works quite well.
have a nice night(and up here, a cold one)[not a beer either!]

 

[AOG-N-IT]

i've been reading up as of late on the subject of computers and artificial intelligence.this intrigues me to no end.however i found that there have been several programs and funded studies in the area called "artificial stupidity" and i think i saw one of the major funders was RSA... well its my honest opinion that they tried out this new programming feature just last week...i must say it works quite well.
have a nice night(and up here, a cold one)[not a beer either!]

You do the same Dell....we've had our humble share of "Cold-Ones" of late too...but thankfully no moisture to amount to anything to go along with it.

You would have to mention Beer , wouldn't you? I'm still a couple of nights away from partaking in such things. I never indulge on a school night.

 

[justaumechanic]

In PIT when the De-Ice jobs were bid they were bid dept 491. Never was a D.

The contract is non specific. Line can work one pad while base runs the other.

In the past when the 491 jobs went up for Bid in Sept/Oct everyone knew that the added jobs were for the pads.. This year was no different. The only difference was the addition of only 18 jobs on two shifts. We knew something was up but not quite what. Then the suprise came that Base was going to handle the De-Ice pad next to the hangar.

Its not a perfect solution but so far it seems to be working ok. The big problem on the pads is the pads themselves. The company had some Third Party fix the pads instead of Plant Mtc and as we all know third party Mtc on anything usually is crap. Well the pads keep breaking down. So we have to use trucks in their place. And of course our trucks are not that great because we have the pads.. Its a circle of pain.

The other problem is staffing. On the line pad pretty much the same guys are working the pad.. In Base thats not the case.. Yes we have volunteers that head out but if they do not have enough then its the Jr guy.. So what you end up with is 1/2 the guys are ok with it and the other 1/2 feel like they just got screwed. And of course they are mechanics who are not the most comfortable working the pad because they have not done it. But everyone is learning and doing the best they can.

Only Base Hangar 5 handles the pad. Hangar 1 and 2 have enough problems without having to deal with the De-Ice pad as well.

 

[delldude]

duh- regardless then you have what i've been trying to get across...they were and are 491 positions.its not bases responsibility to staff....lines getting porked.GRIEVANCE....
the d thing is plant maint...i'm sorry.
its still 491 head count.

 

[justaumechanic]

I'm not going to go round and round on this.

Nothing in the contract says its 491. There is no grievence.

How can you file a grievence on something that is not in the contract?

Established practice? Hell we share aircraft work with the Line all the time.
Nothing new.

Does everyone like it? NO would be the correct answer.. But it would be
pretty hard to file any grievence when you have no contract language to
support it.

When it comes to facilities the company pretty much has a free hand to do what it
wants. If they wanted to make the line hangar in CLT a Base Hangar and staff it
with Base guys what exactly is the line guy going to do about it?

Better yet what if the company decided to make the RON's part of Base, then what? We have no control over what they do when it comes to how they staff
their facilities.. There is no contract language to support it so there is no way
to grieve it.

 

[delldude]

theres absolutely nothing you can do.....

 

[delldude]

we're wasting our time......