phl reserves!

[700UW]

Those of us who were in line mtc and stores worked many a holiday, mtc does not shutdown because it is a holiday.

I worked many a x-mas and thanksgiving, part of the job as how your days off and vacation fell according to your seniority.

You won't find any sympathy from me on this issue.

I guess 9/11, fuel increases and two bankruptcies mean nothing to you.

 

[FlightChic]

Those of us who were in line mtc and stores worked many a holiday, mtc does not shutdown because it is a holiday.

I worked many a x-mas and thanksgiving, part of the job as how your days off and vacation fell according to your seniority.

You won't find any sympathy from me on this issue.

I guess 9/11, fuel increases and two bankruptcies mean nothing to you.

700UW, you need to shut the f**k up and leave us alone. What does it matter to you whether we vent> If you don't like it, then don't read our posts. Just because we don't like a certain aspect of our job doesn't mean we should quit.

Most non-airline people I know who have to work holidays rotate holidays with other workers. For example, Sally gets Thanksgiving off and Christine gets Christmas off while Jeff gets New Years off and Michael gets Easter. Then the following year Sally gets Christmas off, Christine gets New Years, Jeff gets Easter, and Michael gets Thanksgiving. Why can't we have a rotating system that is similar so the same ones are not stuck working EVERY holiday year after year. I was in the crew room the other day doing OPR and there was a lady who was complaining because she ended up with a primary line even though she is normally a secondary lineholder and she didn't get Thanksgiving off whereas there were junior f/as with secondary blocks who got Thanksgiving off. Then there are senior reserves who are supposed to be blockholders but they know there is no chance for them to get the holiday off as a bottom secondary lineholder so they bid reserve so they can be off. I don't mind working an occasional holiday and I'll work every weekend. What I don't want to do is work every holiday, every year for the rest of my career. We should also be well-compensated for working major holidays. We should get at least 200 extra dollars on our paychecks, if not more depending on how many hours we fly. Also, since the company considers December 24th and 25th as holidays then we should get our extra holiday pay for both days. Same goes for Dec. 31st and Jan. 1st. Our whole contract is screwed up and is unfair.

 

[FlightChic]

Based on the information given at the time, yes, because it was not presented as a lifetime commitment. As it is now, I will never see my 2 1/2-year-old son open his Christmas gifts on Christmas Morning. I will never be a part of Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Forget about seeing my Mother on Mother's Day or going to Church with my family on Easter. I still show up for work on the Holidays and I try to make the best of it.

My fault, I never expected it to be from the DOH to retirement that I would be expected to work every single Holiday and that gives me the right to not like it and speak out against it. The argument that you knew when you were hired, is as old and tiresome as the argument that if you don't like it quit one.

You can celebrate the Holiday on any day, but the entire family only gathers on certain days and that is the part that I miss.

Zarah, I 100% agree with you. If I had Christmas off I would give you my days off so you could be home with your son.

 

[Zarah]

Those of us who were in line mtc and stores worked many a holiday, mtc does not shutdown because it is a holiday.

I worked many a x-mas and thanksgiving, part of the job as how your days off and vacation fell according to your seniority.

You won't find any sympathy from me on this issue.

I guess 9/11, fuel increases and two bankruptcies mean nothing to you.

"Many" is not "all" from the date you were hired till the date you retire, so you cannot even remotely relate to how some feel on this issue. Nobody is aking you for sympathy, they are venting on a message board. Just because 9/11 happend, the price of fuel increases daily, and US went through two bankruptcies does not mean everybody signed away their right to vent.

I don't like it, but I show up for work on the Holiday's and do my job the same as I would on any other day. At least with the 24/7 rule I am now guarenteed to get days at home closer to the Holiday. I do like my job even if there are things that I don't like about it and I strive to do a good job.

It is funny that on any thread that is about anything negative there are 3 standard responces you can count on seeing 1) If you don't like it quit. 2) You agreed to that when you were hired. 3) Anything to do with BK. All three show a lack of imagination and are nothing more then knee jerk reactions to threads that might bring about ideas that lead to "gasp" change.

The airline operates on the Holiday's that is a fact. The Flight Attendant contract covers which FAs will work those Holiday's and that is always subject to change. Will it change *shrug* not unless another airline with a different system buys US because I don't see our union even considering alternatives.

 

[N965VJ]

Disregard – double post

 

[2clippedwings]

It really is no surprise in the airline industry that the most junior people have to work the holidays. That's all that is happening here. It sucks, but that's life at the airlines.

What kind of system would you like to see in place instead of what is in place now? You think you are too senior at X years of seniority to have to work Christmas, but you think someone with X+10 years of seniority should have to work it so you get it off?

BTW, does LCC have holiday pay for Christmas? If not, it seems like that would be a good solution -- paying people more to work the holiday would lead to fewer sick calls, etc. On one level it would be an expense for the company, but probably cheaper overall than having to scramble to cover when large numbers of people unexpectedly don't show up for work.

Instead of a mind boggling pay formula no one can understand to work one of the few paid holidays we have left, how about a flat rate pay amount on each holiday ON TOP of guarantee?

 

[N965VJ]

<SNIP> I guess 9/11, fuel increases and two bankruptcies mean nothing to you.

There were plenty of people hired between the PSA and Piedmont mergers that would not have ever been able to spend Christmas with their children, at least until they were teenagers.

All prior to 9-11 and the bankruptcies, by the way.

 

[Bear96]

Bear,

The problem is largely a US East one. No other airline still in business has shrunk by half over the last 5-1/2 years (well, ATA possibly). People that 7 years ago held a schedule are now on reserve with no short-term hope for a schedule. People hired 7 years ago thinking they'd have a few years of reserve are still on reserve, likewise with little hope of holding a schedule anytime soon. Other airlines shrank resulting in longer periods on reserve, but none to the extent that US did.

Agreed that the root of the problem is stagnation (i.e., no new hires), which has been worse at LCC/East than probably any other airline. But I'm not sure how this changes anything I said.

That East F/A seniority has been stagnant for some time is not news. Time to start dealing with the unpleasant reality.

 

[Bear96]

Instead of a mind boggling pay formula no one can understand to work one of the few paid holidays we have left, how about a flat rate pay amount on each holiday ON TOP of guarantee?

Sounds great. Now start getting support for the idea for the next round of negotiations.

Same with the idea someone posted above about ensuring everyone gets either Thanksgiving or Christmas off (assuming that is actually workable -- it implies mathematically that the company can operate on any given day with only 50% of the total number of F/As, which sounds unlikely to me; but the details can be worked on). These things can be done, and it sounds like they can be done in a way that creates no additional net cost to the company. But they won't be done FOR you -- you've gotta be proactive and make sure these ideas (1) have sufficient support on the line; (2) do not have any, or have very little, collateral impact on someone else (or at least that the net positives outweigh the negatives); and (3) get to the right people for negotiations.

 

[beachboy]

Right now we have a system in place from the first bid to the last bid (PRI, SAP, SEC, OVERPROJECT, AUGMENTATION, BIDSHEET, RSV, TWOP...you name it) It's like a game of pick up sticks. You take one stick out of order and you have 200 people screaming bloody murder. I mean it's a hot mess. The system was never designed for what it's become. It was not designed for 10-20 years on reserve! It was designed for do your time and move into the blockholding portion. Now, we have no forward movement and it's like we are stuck in a ditch with no end in sight. The company sits there like mistletoe at Christmas, just hanging around! They are so clueless they can't even understand unless this system is scrapped it will implode into itself. How many bites at the apple should one get? It like the contract has so many processes to change the first bid by the time it trickles down to the 15 year reserve or less, it's an empty apple core. Here suck the juice and be happy you got that! It's ludicrous.
People are so fed up they have become disgusted and apathetic. The MEC for AFA rules with an iron fist and play on this apathy off the line. They know even though everyone is fed up and sick of the crap, no one will do anything to form change. I won't comment on negotiation tactics or people as I just ate dinner.

 

[sharktooth]

If you all dont like the pay, dont like the work rules, then just leave all ready.

It is the same broken record with you all.

No one forces you to work at US.

So, how does one implement change?

Perhaps one could say about you, if you cannot stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen?

 

[etops1]

So, how does one implement change?

Perhaps one could say about you, if you cannot stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen?

thank you sharktooth.

 

[700UW]

Change starts with who you elect to represent you.

Change starts by getting involved and stepping up to the plate.

Moaning about it on a message board does not change the reality of what is happening.

 

[beachboy]

For once 700 I agree 100%.

 

[usacrew3]

Ill work Christmas and New Year if someone will give me my job back!!!