Pros and Cons of 7 Day OH Coverage

[OldGuy@AA]

Why does the Line view 7 Day Coverage differnet that Overhaul?

The most glaring and obvious is the Line has had 7 day coverage since there were dirt runways.

But there is a more important and often over looked reason that most at the overhaul base will understand completely...

SENIORITY

Dave, you make some good points but I'll try to make some more. I have worked as a crew chief on a 7 day line and it was a nightmare. Job continuity was impossible. And before anyone says a mechanic is a mechanic, everyone has different standards. I saw doublers completely removed because someone didn't like the look of it. Support on weekends was nonexistent. Many times areas of the aircraft were left unattended during weekends just because of need of an engineer or support shop.
Also, the reason most of us (who are not from Oklahoma) are here is because of the weekends off. On the line you have full use of your flight benefits (especially in DFW and ORD) where in Tulsa it is getting almost impossible to non rev anywhere due to the limited number of seats and thousands of employees. Most of the work on line stations is not that extensive. Those jobs are usually done by field trip guys. So there is little turnover on jobs on the line.

I also have made an observation. There have been many AMTs that left TULE for the line and will not ever be back. Is it because the line job is easier? Is it because you do not have management breathing down your neck the whole time and have to account for all the time you are there? Is it the freedom to travel without having to look at a standby list with over 100 names on it? My challenge is to find anyone who worked at TULE and went to the line and now wants to come back. You won't find them. Why??? If it is so much better in Tulsa Oklahoma then why don't those people want to come back?

My last point is that many of us have been here for over 25 years and we are expected to work 7 day coverage now? Watch out what you wish for. If there is no difference in scheduling here than at the line stations, the AMTs bidding into your station may have much more senority than you would like.
I am not threatening anyone in any way. I am just saying that if Sat/Sun are regular work days here then people will be looking to move.

 

[Buck]

Be warned, 7-day coverage is on it's way at TULE. Maybe not in this contract but soon there after.

 

[Interested]

I remember there being a 7 day coverage line way back when we had 727's. It was a structure mod line and run as a true 7 day coverage line. Rotating days off, liberal cs policy, some shop support. It worked good, and planes came in and left on schedule. Mechanics were allowed to sc with there own days off. So, one was able to work a couple weeks in a row and then get a long weekend. Good thing was that that there were always enough people on cs, that the line was never undermanned.

If the company wants an even work crews. then Fri/Sat, Sun/Mon won't work. You'd be overmanned on Tue/Wed/Thur.

I say if O/H goes 7 day, make it for everyone, support shops, engineers, management included.

 

[Duke787]

That would be awesome to have TUL guys on the line, let us know when there is going to be a mass exit, then we'll start threads on house prices, school districts, and such in NY, Chicago,and California. I might move to TUL, I understand I can get a good size house with a lot of land for under $400k. To do that and work at ORD you have to live in Indiana or Wisconsin. or drive a couple of hours south or west of ORD.

 

[TWU informer]

That would be awesome to have TUL guys on the line, let us know when there is going to be a mass exit, then we'll start threads on house prices, school districts, and such in NY, Chicago,and California. I might move to TUL, I understand I can get a good size house with a lot of land for under $400k. To do that and work at ORD you have to live in Indiana or Wisconsin. or drive a couple of hours south or west of ORD.

Well come on down and I'll show you around

 

[Deleted member 14439]

ROTFLMAO, 7 day coverage huh? The way the company has historically tried "7day coverage" is DOOMED TO FAIL. Inadequate staffing, no support i.e. shops, engineering, QA. Allows out of control CS`ing. The clowns simply can not get it done. The ONLY way is to bring in all the support folks, up the head count and......wait for it.................................BID YOUR CREW/DAYS OFF !!!! N-E-V-E-R H-A-P-P-E-N !!!!! It will be another JOKE of an attempt at 7 day coverage.

 

[paul1]

First you have to find a station with openings at jfk and ord they are being filled by new hires. So you better start sellling all your toys and get here quick most guys hired in on the line in the lates 80's to early 90's, so for the most part still kind of young 45-55ish. So there willn't be that many people moving. I hired in at tulsa, I know all the guys that I hired in with are still at tulsa and most of them guys are from tulsa or that area anyway. Don't think to many guys are going to move there familys around, but you can always commute!! GL

 

[eolesen]

I might move to TUL, I understand I can get a good size house with a lot of land for under $400k.

Heck, $200K can get you a decent sized house on 10 acres with an outbuilding for a workshop...

 

[Interested]

At ORD we bid for shift, our days rotate every 4 weeks, you go from mon/tues off to tues/wed off wed/thurs...etc....Avionics does it mon/tues, to thurs/fri, to sat/sun......which is nice for avionics because every 3 months they get a 4 day weekend, where line mechs get two 3 day weekends every 6 months............

I believe in the contract it states the days off rotate by what the majority vote in, so if a amt makes a motion at a union meeting to do away with rotating shifts, then that motion gets voted in you are done with rotating shifts.........that is no a TWU thing so much as it is a local 514 thing, we don't have rotating shifts at ORD.

If I remember correctly, on the 727 mod (structure visit) line it went from Mon/Tues-Wed/Thur-Fri/Sat-Sun/Mon. With a liberal CS policy, things went smooth.

 

[Frank Szabo]

If I remember correctly, on the 727 mod (structure visit) line it went from Mon/Tues-Wed/Thur-Fri/Sat-Sun/Mon. With a liberal CS policy, things went smooth.

Things may well have gone "smooth", but control is what the company and its union are interested in now and at any cost.

 

[Buck]

If I remember correctly, on the 727 mod (structure visit) line it went from Mon/Tues-Wed/Thur-Fri/Sat-Sun/Mon. With a liberal CS policy, things went smooth.

This is how it was being done on Dock 1D in TULE. The CS Policy was at first very strict so everyone was still mad. Then management decided to allow for trading, but that lasted about a week. So then they allowed more CS's, attitudes eased a little. The shortage of manpower on the dock was obvious. One of the guys that works for me had TUE/WED off and CS'd every week in the rotation to have SAT/SUN off. The scheduling for the July 4th holiday was a disaster for the aircraft flow which was upgraded from a RETRO package to a Light "C". On SAT before the holiday I had a one man crew. As of this shift change we go to 7-day coverage with FRI/SAT or SUN/MON off. People are still bidding off. It appears that the management of dock 1D has had a negative effect on production. Funny thing is, that it seems that this management of 1D is not a dock decision. The supervisors seem to be caught is the same trap as the mechanics. The decisions appear to becoming from outside the dock or maybe from down south.

 

[Frank Szabo]

... snip

The decisions appear to becoming from outside the dock or maybe from down south.

Probably farther south - CPAs and bean counters aren't exactly world's finest re: constructive thought bordering on reality - "just the paper, folks".

 

[Interested]

This is how it was being done on Dock 1D in TULE. The CS Policy was at first very strict so everyone was still mad. Then management decided to allow for trading, but that lasted about a week. So then they allowed more CS's, attitudes eased a little. The shortage of manpower on the dock was obvious. One of the guys that works for me had TUE/WED off and CS'd every week in the rotation to have SAT/SUN off. The scheduling for the July 4th holiday was a disaster for the aircraft flow which was upgraded from a RETRO package to a Light "C". On SAT before the holiday I had a one man crew. As of this shift change we go to 7-day coverage with FRI/SAT or SUN/MON off. People are still bidding off. It appears that the management of dock 1D has had a negative effect on production. Funny thing is, that it seems that this management of 1D is not a dock decision. The supervisors seem to be caught is the same trap as the mechanics. The decisions appear to becoming from outside the dock or maybe from down south.

I have heard rumors to that affect. I have also heard that the manager wanted to put you guys back on 5/8's with the start of the C check, but someone above him said NO. Don't know if it's true or not though.

 

[Buck]

I have heard rumors to that affect. I have also heard that the manager wanted to put you guys back on 5/8's with the start of the C check, but someone above him said NO. Don't know if it's true or not though.

If the manager wanted to put us back on 5/8's it wasn't the manager of the dock, it may have been the hangar manager.

 

[Buck]

It's Shift Change! We start our new 7-day rotations with FRI/SAT and SUN/MON off. The other docks in TULE are still on 5/8's as well as all of our support.