CAL FUPM Bracelets

[SFR]

ROTFLMAO, you obviously are an educated man on the topic of corporate finance. There are many ways to hide money within the corporate environment. CAL is a pro at it! You my friend are not!!!
Why don't you volunteer all of that extra time you have back toward for fellow pilots? Instead of bragging about it, put it to good use. Oh! I forgot, you are way too selfish to ever do something like that! Because it's all about Sean. I bet you probably voted against the furlough help assessment... You are truly a winner Sean! Are you sure you are not a 1984 hire?

No, I was in grade-K. Besides, I don't have any extra time. Too busy with other stuff.

Think what you want, I really don't care. Besides, I have enough friends. If you are unhappy with yourself, sorry.

 

[CAL EWR B737]

No, I was in grade-K. Besides, I don't have any extra time. Too busy with other stuff.

Wow! One of our former CA Reps in EWR now retired Captain Russ (Rocket) Fisher had a very informative speech as we prepared ourselves for Contract 02. This was prior to 9/11 and just after the massive UAL and DAL mega contracts.

Short version, he would say to those at an Local Council meeting how would everyone in this room like to make $100,000 a day? Of course everyone would raise their hand. Rocket would say do you know the difference between our contract and the new DAL and UAL contracts is around $600,000 per pilot. (I don't remember the actual numbers but they might have even been higher then my example) If you give me 6 days of your time to come to a union event, picket, rally etc. between now and the end of the contract campaign I can get you that $100,000 per day. However if only half of our pilots show up then I will need you for 12 days at $ 50,000 per day.

This contract is worth at least that per pilot for the total pay and benefits for the length of the contract. But hey "you are to busy with other stuff". So be it!

 

[CAL EWR B737]

I was only stuck in EWR overnight, that is what I meant.

How can the company afford those things if we lost money last year? I am curious about that..

Thanks

I'll keep this short and general and I will finish with our MEC Chairman Jay Pierce's editorial last Friday.

1: We are not negotiating a contract for today, we are negotiating one for probably at least 5 to 7 years into the future. CAL's estimated profits through that time period are extremely high.

2: How much would Continental have to raise ticket prices to double all pilots pay today? I am just talking pay and not benefits. How about less then $9 dollars per passenger per ticket. So for a 50% pay raise today it would cost the average CAL passenger less then a Ham sandwich.

3: I really don't care how or what senior CAL management has to do make our company profitable after paying us a fair and equitable wage. They are heavily compensated as the industry's best management team, let them earn their pay. When fuel went up to $147 per barrel did they go out of business? No they dealt with the situation and made adjustments elsewhere. Guess what the price of fuel is the price of fuel and the price of a pilot is the price of a pilot!

Now here is Jay's editorial responding to Mr. Kellner's statement about how our labor costs are among the highest in the industry.

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
I would like to begin my brief by remembering the pilots and passengers who lost their lives in aviation accidents this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of FedEx pilots Kevin Kyle Mosley and Anthony Stephen Pino, as well as with the friends and family of those killed in a separate single-engine plane crash in Montana. We have offered assistance to our fellow pilots at the FedEx MEC and will continue to be available for as long as is needed.

Earlier this week I read with great interest an article in the Houston Chronicle (Continental seeks path out of slump) and a commentary in the same edition by columnist Loren Steffy that discussed Larry Kellner’s thoughts on airline re-regulation. Recognizing that the article is targeted at the general public and covers basic “airline economics 101” with some emphasis on today’s economic downturn, there are still a few points I would like to address. First, on the subject of labor costs, Mr. Kellner is quoted as acknowledging that Continental’s labor costs are “on the high end of the industry.” While that may be true in the context of all labor, to include executives, bonuses, management and all other labor groups, when we focus in solely on cockpit costs, a different picture presents itself.

Looking at total cockpit compensation on a cost per block hour basis for 2007 (the latest data provided courtesy of MIT), CAL ($547) lags behind Delta ($562), Southwest ($567), United ($613) Northwest ($648) and American ($781) by significant amounts. It is interesting that if you listen to Larry Kellner, our labor costs are high. But if you listen to Gerald Arpy (AMR CEO), he would love to have Continental’s cockpit costs. I suspect that if you ask the more than 300 CAL pilots who earned less than $50K last year, or the more than 1500 CAL pilots who earned less that $100K last year, they might have a different perspective on labor costs than Mr. Kellner does.

Cockpit costs are a part of labor costs. Labor costs are a component of total costs, and costs are on the rise. As an example of this, note that aircraft financing is also a cost component. Due to the financial industry’s problems, this financing has become more expensive. That does not mean that Continental does not finance aircraft anymore: it means that they pay more to finance aircraft. It becomes a part of their business plan to absorb those increased costs. Pilot costs (cockpit costs) will also increase in the near future as a result of our contract negotiations. It is incumbent upon management to design a business plan that will absorb those cost increases as well.

On the subject of the Railway Labor Act and its effects on contract negotiations, Mr. Kellner and I are in agreement. In the article, he states that “… the Railway Labor Act (RLA) creates a very cumbersome process.” I could not agree more, but I would add that the problem is exacerbated by management’s reticence to acknowledge and act upon our desires—no, demands—for a return of our purchasing power, our quality of life, our security in retirement and job protections. We have not even skimmed the surface of economic issues and yet, at the table, we face resistance on numerous areas of improvement that we propose. I would suggest that the RLA only becomes cumbersome if one party to the negotiations uses it as a cover for saying no.

Management must get over their mental block that this contract will be like its predecessors, ripe with language so malleable that managers can interpret or mold it like clay at their whim. This contract, at its very core, must provide clear, concise language designed to eliminate ambiguity and return us and our profession to the proud standing we once held. Holding to past beliefs that our pilot group must work harder, be more productive, be staffed at lower levels and be managed like high school students in order for our company to compete is by far more cumbersome to progress than the RLA ever contemplated.

As we approach the summer flying season, please keep in mind that we have 147 pilots furloughed. Our staffing levels will be tested and your schedules pushed to the limits. When it rains in the north, our contract will be conveniently reinterpreted. When it storms in the south, scheduling will rewrite the rules to meet their needs. For these and so many other reasons, we will take as long as necessary to properly, completely and correctly negotiate a new contract. As cumbersome as it may be, when management says “No,” again and again and again, we will push. We will argue the small items and the large with a purpose and energy borne of too many winters of discontent and too many summers of desperation. We will then tackle the economic sections with the same vim and vigor. We will call on you for support and legal actions when necessary. And in the end, cumbersome process or not, we will prevail.

One Union, One Voice.
Capt. Jay Pierce
CAL MEC Chairman

​

 

[SFR]

I'll keep this short and general and I will finish with our MEC Chairman Jay Pierce's editorial last Friday.

1: We are not negotiating a contract for today, we are negotiating one for probably at least 5 to 7 years into the future. CAL's estimated profits through that time period are extremely high.

2: How much would Continental have to raise ticket prices to double all pilots pay today? I am just talking pay and not benefits. How about less then $9 dollars per passenger per ticket. So for a 50% pay raise today it would cost the average CAL passenger less then a Ham sandwich.

3: I really don't care how or what senior CAL management has to do make our company profitable after paying us a fair and equitable wage. They are heavily compensated as the industry's best management team, let them earn their pay. When fuel went up to $147 per barrel did they go out of business? No they dealt with the situation and made adjustments elsewhere. Guess what the price of fuel is the price of fuel and the price of a pilot is the price of a pilot!

Now here is Jay's editorial responding to Mr. Kellner's statement about how our labor costs are among the highest in the industry.

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
I would like to begin my brief by remembering the pilots and passengers who lost their lives in aviation accidents this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of FedEx pilots Kevin Kyle Mosley and Anthony Stephen Pino, as well as with the friends and family of those killed in a separate single-engine plane crash in Montana. We have offered assistance to our fellow pilots at the FedEx MEC and will continue to be available for as long as is needed.

Earlier this week I read with great interest an article in the Houston Chronicle (Continental seeks path out of slump) and a commentary in the same edition by columnist Loren Steffy that discussed Larry Kellner’s thoughts on airline re-regulation. Recognizing that the article is targeted at the general public and covers basic “airline economics 101” with some emphasis on today’s economic downturn, there are still a few points I would like to address. First, on the subject of labor costs, Mr. Kellner is quoted as acknowledging that Continental’s labor costs are “on the high end of the industry.” While that may be true in the context of all labor, to include executives, bonuses, management and all other labor groups, when we focus in solely on cockpit costs, a different picture presents itself.

Looking at total cockpit compensation on a cost per block hour basis for 2007 (the latest data provided courtesy of MIT), CAL ($547) lags behind Delta ($562), Southwest ($567), United ($613) Northwest ($648) and American ($781) by significant amounts. It is interesting that if you listen to Larry Kellner, our labor costs are high. But if you listen to Gerald Arpy (AMR CEO), he would love to have Continental’s cockpit costs. I suspect that if you ask the more than 300 CAL pilots who earned less than $50K last year, or the more than 1500 CAL pilots who earned less that $100K last year, they might have a different perspective on labor costs than Mr. Kellner does.

Cockpit costs are a part of labor costs. Labor costs are a component of total costs, and costs are on the rise. As an example of this, note that aircraft financing is also a cost component. Due to the financial industry’s problems, this financing has become more expensive. That does not mean that Continental does not finance aircraft anymore: it means that they pay more to finance aircraft. It becomes a part of their business plan to absorb those increased costs. Pilot costs (cockpit costs) will also increase in the near future as a result of our contract negotiations. It is incumbent upon management to design a business plan that will absorb those cost increases as well.

On the subject of the Railway Labor Act and its effects on contract negotiations, Mr. Kellner and I are in agreement. In the article, he states that “… the Railway Labor Act (RLA) creates a very cumbersome process.” I could not agree more, but I would add that the problem is exacerbated by management’s reticence to acknowledge and act upon our desires—no, demands—for a return of our purchasing power, our quality of life, our security in retirement and job protections. We have not even skimmed the surface of economic issues and yet, at the table, we face resistance on numerous areas of improvement that we propose. I would suggest that the RLA only becomes cumbersome if one party to the negotiations uses it as a cover for saying no.

Management must get over their mental block that this contract will be like its predecessors, ripe with language so malleable that managers can interpret or mold it like clay at their whim. This contract, at its very core, must provide clear, concise language designed to eliminate ambiguity and return us and our profession to the proud standing we once held. Holding to past beliefs that our pilot group must work harder, be more productive, be staffed at lower levels and be managed like high school students in order for our company to compete is by far more cumbersome to progress than the RLA ever contemplated.

As we approach the summer flying season, please keep in mind that we have 147 pilots furloughed. Our staffing levels will be tested and your schedules pushed to the limits. When it rains in the north, our contract will be conveniently reinterpreted. When it storms in the south, scheduling will rewrite the rules to meet their needs. For these and so many other reasons, we will take as long as necessary to properly, completely and correctly negotiate a new contract. As cumbersome as it may be, when management says “No,” again and again and again, we will push. We will argue the small items and the large with a purpose and energy borne of too many winters of discontent and too many summers of desperation. We will then tackle the economic sections with the same vim and vigor. We will call on you for support and legal actions when necessary. And in the end, cumbersome process or not, we will prevail.

One Union, One Voice.
Capt. Jay Pierce
CAL MEC Chairman

Good post

 

[SFR]

I'll keep this short and general and I will finish with our MEC Chairman Jay Pierce's editorial last Friday.

1: We are not negotiating a contract for today, we are negotiating one for probably at least 5 to 7 years into the future. CAL's estimated profits through that time period are extremely high.

2: How much would Continental have to raise ticket prices to double all pilots pay today? I am just talking pay and not benefits. How about less then $9 dollars per passenger per ticket. So for a 50% pay raise today it would cost the average CAL passenger less then a Ham sandwich.

3: I really don't care how or what senior CAL management has to do make our company profitable after paying us a fair and equitable wage. They are heavily compensated as the industry's best management team, let them earn their pay. When fuel went up to $147 per barrel did they go out of business? No they dealt with the situation and made adjustments elsewhere. Guess what the price of fuel is the price of fuel and the price of a pilot is the price of a pilot!

Now here is Jay's editorial responding to Mr. Kellner's statement about how our labor costs are among the highest in the industry.

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
I would like to begin my brief by remembering the pilots and passengers who lost their lives in aviation accidents this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of FedEx pilots Kevin Kyle Mosley and Anthony Stephen Pino, as well as with the friends and family of those killed in a separate single-engine plane crash in Montana. We have offered assistance to our fellow pilots at the FedEx MEC and will continue to be available for as long as is needed.

Earlier this week I read with great interest an article in the Houston Chronicle (Continental seeks path out of slump) and a commentary in the same edition by columnist Loren Steffy that discussed Larry Kellner’s thoughts on airline re-regulation. Recognizing that the article is targeted at the general public and covers basic “airline economics 101” with some emphasis on today’s economic downturn, there are still a few points I would like to address. First, on the subject of labor costs, Mr. Kellner is quoted as acknowledging that Continental’s labor costs are “on the high end of the industry.” While that may be true in the context of all labor, to include executives, bonuses, management and all other labor groups, when we focus in solely on cockpit costs, a different picture presents itself.

Looking at total cockpit compensation on a cost per block hour basis for 2007 (the latest data provided courtesy of MIT), CAL ($547) lags behind Delta ($562), Southwest ($567), United ($613) Northwest ($648) and American ($781) by significant amounts. It is interesting that if you listen to Larry Kellner, our labor costs are high. But if you listen to Gerald Arpy (AMR CEO), he would love to have Continental’s cockpit costs. I suspect that if you ask the more than 300 CAL pilots who earned less than $50K last year, or the more than 1500 CAL pilots who earned less that $100K last year, they might have a different perspective on labor costs than Mr. Kellner does.

Cockpit costs are a part of labor costs. Labor costs are a component of total costs, and costs are on the rise. As an example of this, note that aircraft financing is also a cost component. Due to the financial industry’s problems, this financing has become more expensive. That does not mean that Continental does not finance aircraft anymore: it means that they pay more to finance aircraft. It becomes a part of their business plan to absorb those increased costs. Pilot costs (cockpit costs) will also increase in the near future as a result of our contract negotiations. It is incumbent upon management to design a business plan that will absorb those cost increases as well.

On the subject of the Railway Labor Act and its effects on contract negotiations, Mr. Kellner and I are in agreement. In the article, he states that “… the Railway Labor Act (RLA) creates a very cumbersome process.” I could not agree more, but I would add that the problem is exacerbated by management’s reticence to acknowledge and act upon our desires—no, demands—for a return of our purchasing power, our quality of life, our security in retirement and job protections. We have not even skimmed the surface of economic issues and yet, at the table, we face resistance on numerous areas of improvement that we propose. I would suggest that the RLA only becomes cumbersome if one party to the negotiations uses it as a cover for saying no.

Management must get over their mental block that this contract will be like its predecessors, ripe with language so malleable that managers can interpret or mold it like clay at their whim. This contract, at its very core, must provide clear, concise language designed to eliminate ambiguity and return us and our profession to the proud standing we once held. Holding to past beliefs that our pilot group must work harder, be more productive, be staffed at lower levels and be managed like high school students in order for our company to compete is by far more cumbersome to progress than the RLA ever contemplated.

As we approach the summer flying season, please keep in mind that we have 147 pilots furloughed. Our staffing levels will be tested and your schedules pushed to the limits. When it rains in the north, our contract will be conveniently reinterpreted. When it storms in the south, scheduling will rewrite the rules to meet their needs. For these and so many other reasons, we will take as long as necessary to properly, completely and correctly negotiate a new contract. As cumbersome as it may be, when management says “No,” again and again and again, we will push. We will argue the small items and the large with a purpose and energy borne of too many winters of discontent and too many summers of desperation. We will then tackle the economic sections with the same vim and vigor. We will call on you for support and legal actions when necessary. And in the end, cumbersome process or not, we will prevail.

One Union, One Voice.
Capt. Jay Pierce
CAL MEC Chairman

Good post

 

[DontFeedTheBear]

No, I was in grade-K. Besides, I don't have any extra time. Too busy with other stuff.

Think what you want, I really don't care. Besides, I have enough friends. If you are unhappy with yourself, sorry.

Stop playing with yourself, that would free up A LOT of time. Ahh! Disregard, it's better you don't procreate!

Don't worry change will happen even with your one vote against it...

Yogi

 

[SFR]

Stop playing with yourself, that would free up A LOT of time. Ahh! Disregard, it's better you don't procreate!

Don't worry change will happen even with your one vote against it...

Yogi

I never said I would vote against change. Like I said before, I suggest brain usage.

 

[CAL EWR B737]

How can the company afford those things if we lost money last year? I am curious about that..

Thanks

Here is Council 170's answer to your question.

Special Early Edition of Your EWR Council 170 Weekly BlastMail for Tuesday, March 31,

The Magenta Line​

on course from failure to success​

[FONT=&quot]the council 170 weekly update[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]“Continental feels that there is no contractual reason to pay the lump sum.”[/FONT][FONT=&quot] – Fred Abbott, Vice President of Flight Operations, March 16, 2009, during a pilot meeting in Guam.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Today is Tuesday, March 31st. As some of you may know, Unit 1, the bargaining unit for many of ALPA’s staffers, faces a possible strike tonight at midnight. The Officers of Council 170 fully support our brothers and sisters of Unit 1 in their efforts to bargain for a fair and equitable contract. We will not perform struck work of any kind nor will we be able to access many of ALPA’s services if Unit 1 is forced to go on strike tonight or at any time prior to agreement on a new contract. We have issued this week’s BlastMail early to avoid any interruption in our communications to you, our constituents.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]There are 10 items for discussion:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Item 1: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Mr. Kellner’s Flights of Fancy[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]In “The Gift That Keeps on Giving” department, rarely is one story so generous as to provide us with material for multiple BlastMails. Thus, we are thankful for Mr. Kellner’s interesting and enlightening feature article in a recent issue of the Houston Chronicle. In this article, Mr. Kellner tells us all that “now might not be the best time for negotiations with mechanics and pilots”. History demonstrates that the only time best for management to negotiate with us in a fair and equitable manner is “never”. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The article goes on to say that that, “Continental’s labor costs are on the high end of the industry, in part because of a rash of bankruptcies earlier this decade that allowed some rivals to slash pensions and other employee commitments.” Yes, that’s what the article says. They almost make it sound like fun, all that slashing of “pensions and other employee commitments”. After reading Mr. Kellner’s assurances that our contract is, indeed, at the pinnacle of the airline industry, we are relieved to know that all the things we thought had been taken from us via Contract ’02 are still in place—like our pensions, work rules, and pay. Maybe all we need to do is file a pay claim.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]To analyze Mr. Kellner’s assertion that our “labor costs are on the high end of the industry”, we turned to our resident airline analyst, former member of our Negotiating Committee, and Chairman of our council’s Education Committee, Captain Tim Boyens. Captain Boyens is well-known among our pilots for his insight and intellectual vigor and honesty. His take?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Continental Airlines pilots rank eighth (8th) in cockpit costs, and $234 per block hour lower than the pilots of American Airlines.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The list below, from last week’s MEC Chairman’s Update, bears repeating. It shows all U.S.-based airlines ranked from highest to lowest block hour cockpit costs in 2007, the last year for which this data is available. The list does not include UPS or FedEx; if it did, we would rank tenth lowest (10th) instead of eighth (8th) lowest.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Total Cockpit Cost per Block Hour - ALL AIRCRAFT 2007[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]American $781/hour[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Northwest $648/hour (via BK court)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Hawaiian $627/hour[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Alaska $621/hour[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]United $613/hour (via BK court)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Southwest $567/hour[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Delta $562/hour (via BK court)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Continental $547/hour[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]USAirways $520/hour (via BK court twice)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Vice President of Flight Operations, Fred Abbott, on his recent fishing trip to Guam, told our Guam-based pilots that we will be spending freely on things such as lie-flat seats for our 777 and 757’s, and satellite TV systems for our 757-300’s and 737 NG’s. While we are naturally thrilled that management has committed millions of dollars to the improvement of our product, they had better be thinking about how to improve the lives and livelihoods of the pilots who safely, efficiently, and economically provide our product to our passengers.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Delta Air Lines Captain Mike Donatelli, our ALPA National SPSC Chairman, said it best: “The price of fuel is the price of fuel and the price of a pilot is the price of a pilot.” Our management never wants for a thing, and cost never seems to be an object when it comes to new terminals, new President’s Clubs, new ramp equipment, new airplanes, or Mr. Kellner’s latest compensation demands. We, the pilots, demand the same consideration as every other essential component of Continental Airlines. When fuel was $4 per gallon, management paid it. The price of pilots will be going up significantly, too, and we will require management to figure out how to pay us. Management has gotten industry-leading contracts for years—and ours is now due. Management can use their talents to provide us with an industry-leading contact—or they can fight us and stall. In the end, we will be paid what we have both earned and deserve. How much pain management is willing to go through in the process—that is up to them.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Item 2:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Fred Goes Fishing[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]As alluded to above, Vice President of Flight Operations, Fred Abbott, recently hosted all of management’s Chief Pilots on a long-range navigation junket to Guam. At the Guam-based pilot’s meeting called for the occasion, Mr. Abbott told the thirty or so assembled pilots, “this is not just a fishing trip”, and he was right—it was all that—and so much more. It was the chance for Mr. Abbott to treat every Chief Pilot, members of management staff, and assorted hangers-on to positive-space passes, stay in first-class hotel rooms, and enjoy first-class expense accounts, all while soaking up the sun and enjoying the night-life of Guam. They also likely bounced several our non-revs trying to make the difficult trip from Honolulu to Guam to get to work.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]How many of our furloughed pilots could have been brought back in exchange for the money spent on this trip? How many pay claims for ACARS time-shorting could have been reimbursed? How many months of health insurance for new hire pilots might have been paid?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Every day, management throws waste and excess like this in our faces followed by a reminder that they just can’t afford to pay us. Yes, they can—and, yes, they will.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

 

[CAL EWR B737]

[FONT=&quot]Item 3: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Management Clarifies Cockpit Jumpseat for Off-Duty Mechanics—Sort of[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Late Friday, after several requests from both our MEC leadership and the MEC Jumpseat Committee, and with the support of all Continental pilots, management moved to clarify their position on whether or not our off-duty mechanics may access the Captain's jumpseat for personal travel.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]In a bulletin issued on the Flight Operations E-Bulletin Board, management says:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]"[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Recently there has been some confusion introduced with regard to Continental’s long-standing jumpseat policy as it relates to the authorization of Continental mechanics that are licensed certificated airman to occupy the flight deck jumpseat.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Individuals, including licensed mechanics traveling on-duty or for personal travel, who are approved by our automated jumpseat system are authorized to occupy the flight deck jumpseat with your verification of the documentation and identification requirements as outlined in the Flight Operations Manual.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]As is stated in the Continental Airlines Flight Operations Manual at Section 5, page 44:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Certificated employees of Continental Airlines (pilots, dispatchers, and maintenance technicians) are authorized flight deck jumpseat access in accordance with the FAR requirements specified in the chart above.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Continental pilots, dispatchers and maintenance technicians actively employed by the airline are identified in Continental’s automated jumpseat access program and permitted flight deck jumpseat access."[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]While management is certainly entitled to their opinion as to who is authorized to request access to the Captain's jumpseat, the "chart" referenced in the bulletin excerpted above does not mention mechanics flying off-duty on personal travel. To help resolve this, and to help our mechanics regain their jumpseat privileges as quickly as possible, your MEC leadership has requested written clarification from the Continental Airlines POI. In the mean time, management has assured us that no pilot will face any action from the FAA as a result of their decision to carry any mechanic cleared for cockpit access via the existing jumpseat authorization protocol.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Obscured in this tempest in a cockpit is the very real fact that every month older 737's with two cockpit jumpseats leave our fleet. In some cases there is a 737 NG to replace it, in some cases there is not. We are an airline made of commuting pilots—in large part because of the cavalier opening and closing of pilot bases by management in the past. Anyone remember Greensboro, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Seattle, Honolulu, Denver, El Paso, or Manila? [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Every 737 that leaves our fleet means lost jumpseats and fewer commuting opportunities for our pilots—and summer is coming. Despite the economy, full summer loads are coming, as well. While we are excited to see management spend so much time and effort helping our mechanics travel while off-duty, we would like to see some of that effort directed toward us, the pilots of Continental Airlines. We still have a CASS system that is buggy at best, green screen computers at some of our stations, agents who do not know jumpseat processing procedures, and pilots trying to get to work left behind every day because management is not interested in fixing the problem they created. We are also dangerously close to being thrown off the jumpseats of other airlines because word of our daily failure to accommodate our fellow pilots from these other airlines is getting back to their jumpseat committees. There is no free lunch, there is only quid pro quo—and management is not holding up their end of the deal.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]While it does not help the pilots from other airlines left stranded by management’s miserable implementation of CASS, please, Captains, know at least the procedure for alternate jumpseat access for our own pilots. If we plan to operate the hellish schedule management has in store for us this summer, everyone will have to get to work.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Item 4:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Funding Management’s Future[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]We all know how management loves to chip away at us especially in the area of pay. Management has legions of specialists trained to squeeze every last dollar from us and one of their favorite tools is the manipulation of ACARS block times. This is despite a Letter of Agreement prohibiting this practice. How many of us have filed pay claims based upon some mystery-manager altering our ACARS times for pay? How many of us have given up filing pay claims for five minutes here, eight minutes there? Although the favored method of pay adjustment occurs on the front-end, management has some back-end tricks, too.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]An interesting item from the Inflight Manual: Chapter 5, page 40,[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]requires the lead flight attendant on 737 domestic arrivals to crack the 1L door after disarming it. The specific sequence reads:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“Door Disarming[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]• After the aircraft has parked at the gate and the FASTEN SEAT BELT sign has been turned off, flight attendants must disarm their assigned door(s) and crosscheck the appropriate door(s).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]• (On 737 domestic flights only) Flight attendant A cracks the 1L door.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]• Flight attendant A then makes the door disarming announcement. (Refer to specific aircraft chapter for door assignments and disarming procedures. Refer to this chapter for crosscheck procedures.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]• On wide body and 757 aircraft, flight attendant A also initiates an All Call. (Refer to Door All Call Procedures, this chapter.)”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Not too many years ago a flight attendant cracked her door a little too far—and fell onto the ramp. There was no jetway to save her. It did, however, save management a couple of bucks on the early block-in.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Your LEC leadership recommends that all B-737 Captains brief your flight attendants to follow their Inflight Manual procedures and do not crack the door until the seat belt sign is turned off.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Your LEC leadership also recommends that all Captains do not turn off the seatbelt sign until the jetway is connected to your aircraft with a gate agent ready to complete the door-opening procedure and deplane our passengers.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Item 5:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] No A-Fund Liquidity Shortfall—This Week [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Management has notified the CAL MEC that there will be no A-Fund liquidity shortfall for the period from March 27, 2009 through June 27, 2009. While management still cannot be bothered to fund our A-Plan on the same schedule they use to fund their own or add any new money to our plan, the stock market had a good week leading up to the liquidity shortfall calculation. This means that the A-Fund lump-sum payment option for retirees will be available through at least June 27, 2009, when the next calculation will take place.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Item 6:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Crew Scheduling Seeks Pilots to Train Them on Contract ‘02[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Not really—but they should.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Your LEC Officers have been notified by several of our reserve pilots that crew scheduling seems to have a “training-gap” when it comes to “B” reserve call out times. Section 25, Part 11, Subsection 11 of our contract states:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]“A “B” reserve pilot must be phone available during his specified phone availability period and must be able to effectuate a block out (including dead head) within 3 hours of initial contact.”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Granted, this section is extremely complex in language, meaning, and nuance. Nevertheless, your LEC Officers advise that when given a minimum reserve call out time you have up to three hours from the initial contact from crew scheduling.[/FONT]

 

[CAL EWR B737]

[FONT=&quot]Item 7:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Request for Committee Volunteers[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]All of our committees need volunteers. If you are interested in committee work or if you have special artistic talents of any kind, we want you to help your fellow EWR pilots. If you are interested or have previously expressed interest via e-mail or a phone call, please confirm your continuing interest in an e-mail to Captain Kaye Riggs, Secretary-Treasurer, LEC 170 at [/FONT][FONT=&quot][email protected][/FONT][FONT=&quot]. Please put the word “Volunteer” in the subject line.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Item 8:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Next Meetings[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Our next LC 170 meeting is scheduled for April 8 at 1100 at the Newark Airport Marriott. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Our next MEC meeting is scheduled to begin at our union headquarters in Houston on April 21st at 1300 and run through the 24th. After the first day of the MEC meeting, business normally begins at 0900 but is subject to change based upon workload and schedule. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Please make plans to attend either or both of these meetings. Remember, Speakers’ Corner is held daily at 1300 at the MEC meeting. This is your chance to address all of your elected representatives directly.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Item 9:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] E-Mail Ooopsie[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Due to the miserable failure of your council’s Secretary/Treasurer, the e-mail address of Vice Chairman Tara Cook in last week’s BlastMail contained an error. Only the sharp eyes of about 2000 of our council’s pilots caught this incredibly obscure mistake. Her correct e-mail address is: [/FONT][FONT=&quot][email protected][/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Secretary/Treasurer will be made to “kiss the gunner’s daughter”. Tickets are on sale now for this exciting event.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Item 10: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Vice Chairman’s Editorial[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Since being elected as the EWR First Officer Representative, I have been asked many times by our senior pilots: “How can we count on you to fight for the proper funding of our A-Plan when more than half the pilots you represent don’t have a stake in it?” My answer is simple and is always the same: “I’ll fight for proper funding of the A plan because I believe management’s cavalier attitude toward the future security of our longest serving pilots is a clear indicator of the lack of dignity and respect with which they view all of us.” The lack of the promised and proper funding of our pension plan is a symptom of a larger problem- one that affects every pilot, no matter where they fall on the seniority list. Other symptoms include harassment of military pilots, extensions of probation for putting your family first during a natural disaster, releasing reserves to rest well into a call period to “legally” fly an international red-eye flight later that night, changing ACARS times, working junior pilots like slaves in the months prior to sending them to the unemployment line…need I go on?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The fact is that management views the pilots as simply beans to be counted—and nothing more. They conveniently forget that the pilots are at the tip of the spear, flying thousands of hours in all kinds of weather, ensuring the safety of our passengers and the efficiency of the operation, EVERY DAY! We do so because we are professionals and we are proud of the job that we do. We do so whether we are number one on the seniority list and ready to retire or a new hire, working uninsured and underpaid. We are the life’s blood of this airline and deserve to be treated as such. That treatment must include industry leading compensation in pay rates and soft pay for all of our pilots, work rules that are the envy of the industry, the recognition of Captain’s authority, staffing that is adequate to cover scheduled flying AND irregular operations, and the ability to count on a comfortable living in retirement—starting with a fully funded A -Plan for those who have earned it! Let’s not forget that today’s new-hire is tomorrow’s retiree and how I am treated down the road will be determined by how I allow our senior guys to be treated today. The only way we can successfully fight to be treated as more than counted beans is to stand together, junior and senior, Captain and First Officer, International and Domestic, and fight the disease—let’s not get distracted by our individual symptoms![/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]“Continental feels that there is no contractual reason to pay the lump sum.”[/FONT][FONT=&quot] – Fred Abbott, Vice President of Flight Operations, March 16, 2009, during a pilot meeting in Guam.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Captain Jayson Baron, EWR Council 170 Chairman[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][email protected][/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]First Officer Tara Cook, EWR Council 170 Vice Chairman[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][email protected][/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Captain Kaye Riggs, EWR Council 170 Secretary-Treasurer[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][email protected][/FONT] __________________