Us Airways, Pilots Upbeat After Meeting

[firstamendment]

If the company is so interested in saving money, how come there is a new pilot bid every month? Seems to me the bids use to cover at least three months. Doesn't this cause alot of retraining, which cost lots of $$$$$$? Please pilots, correct me or educate me if I am wrong.

 

[BoeingBoy]

firstamendment,

The pilots have a training freeze provision in the contract. This means that when a pilot makes a voluntary equipment or seat move, he/she is "frozen" in that new position for anywhere from 12 to 24 months. In the multi-month bids you mentioned, a pilot can make multiple moves (1 in each month of the bid) and only be frozen to the final position. By going to single month bids, the company can apply the "freeze" to more pilots, which is claimed to reduce training costs.

Hope this helps...

Jim

 

[a320av8r]

No since every month there is a reduction in the number of pilots due to attrition.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Oh, forgot 1 thing. For the last year or so we've been having pilot bids every other month and I think we skipped 2 months a couple of times.

Jim

 

[passed_over]

Rest assured the way that ALPA and in particular the presidentof ALPA sold out the ALG and soon I am sure the PDT pilots he will sell out the mainline pilots and they will suffer the misery of the WO pilots. remember fellas what goes around comes around. Misery loves company so come on in the house and join the misery that you created woth J4J and giving it all to the contract carriers.

 

[PITbull]

If ALPA starts to give wage and benfit concessions along with work rules, I will surely be disappointed. I don't understand how uniion reps can take such a strong position on behalf of their membership, say they will not negotiate or give concessions to THIS management publically, and then turn around two weeks later and give concessions, benefits, and workrules to this same managment that they had proclaimed to despise and distrust. I think I might have mssed a couple of steps here, someone help me understand this change of posture.

Simply baffling...

:blink:

 

[USHenry]

Perhaps because anyone is free to go and find a job at any time? Perhaps because those who are unhappy and miserable and feel cheated should make a resume and go now? But if the company goes under then everyone loses - even the folks who are quite happy and proud to be part of USAirways, believe in the company, and provide great customer service every day and whom I believe to be a majority of the company but a minority on this forum? At this point even the happy should be preparing for the worst. But the unhappy should have left a long time ago...

I can't imagine being completely miserable at my job and hating my employer. I was that way for about a year and I made the rest of those around me in my personal life miserable. I think those that are unhappy and miserable would do themselves a huge favor by finding another way to spend so much of their lives. I don't think that any climate is going to change in this business to ever return business to the way it was in mid 2001 and prior.

 

[firstamendment]

firstamendment,

The pilots have a training freeze provision in the contract. This means that when a pilot makes a voluntary equipment or seat move, he/she is "frozen" in that new position for anywhere from 12 to 24 months. In the multi-month bids you mentioned, a pilot can make multiple moves (1 in each month of the bid) and only be frozen to the final position. By going to single month bids, the company can apply the "freeze" to more pilots, which is claimed to reduce training costs.

Hope this helps...

Jim

Thanks BoeingBoy

I have been educated by you guys enough in the cockpit to fly the airplane ( I aspire to be Karen Black from Airport '77) , but when it comes to your work rules and how all the pilot bidding works, it confuses the hell out of me. Again, thanks.

 

[Light Years]

LOL at Karen Black in Airport 77. Wasnt Erik Estrada the F.O. or F.E.?

 

[USA320Pilot]

US Airways to meet with two unions

Pilots, attendants involved in gathering next week

PITTSBURGH (Post-Gazette) - In what could be a sign of warming relations between US Airways and its unions, top executives with the Arlington, Va.-based airline are planning to attend a meeting next week in Arlington with leaders of the Air Line Pilots Association and a mid-February gathering of the Association of Flight Attendants in Pittsburgh.

See Story

Respectfully,

USA320Pilot

 

[BoeingBoy]

firstamendment,

"when it comes to your work rules and how all the pilot bidding works, it confuses the hell out of me"


Don't feel bad - I guarantee you that a significant % of the pilots are confused by one or another part of the work rules and/or bidding. At least I am.

When you take over the controls, just remember that pulling back makes the houses smaller and pushing forward makes them bigger.

Jim

 

[ClueByFour]

If ALPA starts to give wage and benfit concessions along with work rules, I will surely be disappointed. I don't understand how uniion reps can take such a strong position on behalf of their membership, say they will not negotiate or give concessions to THIS management publically, and then turn around two weeks later and give concessions, benefits, and workrules to this same managment that they had proclaimed to despise and distrust. I think I might have mssed a couple of steps here, someone help me understand this change of posture.

Simply baffling...

:blink:

This one is fairly easy.

If the junior guy on the list at US (ALPA) has 15 or 16 years and is (at least) into his mid to late 40s and making $80k or thereabouts a year, they (the MEC) will sell the farm to keep it that way. This is due to the simple fact that in today's environment, it is very, very hard for somewhat with that kind of experience and age to find a flying job that comes with the same standard of living. Or, that's how this observer sees it.

The aggrevating thing with this is that the US MEC will happily feed it's junior (since young is not necessarily apropos when discussing the remaining active seniority list at US) pilots to the wolves to protect the more senior pilots. This phenomenon is not unique to the US pilot group--ALPA and APA have done it for years (see the lawsuit brought by the RJDC or ask any former CCair pilot for a more in-depth explanation of the problem).

 

[28yearsnojob]

:down: Pilots talk a big game but when push comes to shove they will give right
up to the guy below them.

 

[BoeingBoy]

For what it's worth, the membership of ALPA should get to vote on any concessions this time around (if they are any negotiated by the MEC). Doesn't mean it will necessarily change the outcome reference the junior folks but there is always hope.

Jim