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Cal Mec Update June 15

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CAL EWR B737

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June 15, 2007
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE: LEARNING FROM SUCCESS
It is difficult to convey adequately my deep sense of pride in the effort put forth by many of your fellow pilots this past week. On Tuesday, June 12, just under 100 Continental pilots arrived at the CAL MEC office to prepare for our planned rally in downtown Houston at the Continental Airlines shareholders meeting. As many of you know from my previous communications, this was a well planned event designed to send a clear message to the company management that this pilot union is unified, disciplined, focused and strong with a will to win.
Our near term objective was to get the company to recognize that it would be mutually beneficial to begin the negotiations process now, in order to get a new contract on time. We have accomplished this first objective. At the shareholders meeting, company officers and members of the Board of Directors witnessed our unity of purpose and unity of command unlike anything in the recent past. From the time we assembled in our building for a briefing on how we would present ourselves (the rules of engagement), through the entry and exit from the meeting and to the point we reformed our group on the buses to go home, we were perceived as a well disciplined, cohesive force. Mr. Kellner acknowledged our contribution to Continental’s success at several points in his presentation to the Board and expressed the company’s intention to begin the negotiation process early so we might achieve a contract on time.
This early success in our campaign highlights some key lessons learned that we should embrace and incorporate to continue our momentum. First, we must have a well thought out game plan designed to achieve specific objectives. Every action we take must be characterized by discipline, unity of purpose and a cohesive focus. Anything else will not be productive. If this sounds “militaristic,” it is, because it is founded on principles that have been proven successful in military efforts. This is a campaign. It must be organized along the same lines as any successful military campaign and executed with a unity of command. We can do this and 100 of your fellow pilots just did—magnificently!
We also learned from our debrief with our participants that our communications process is working, but can be enhanced through more personal phone contact with our fellow pilots and their families. We will focus on the inclusion of spouses as part of future events to make visible our commitment to improving the quality of life for our families through Contract ’08. We welcome allies in our campaign and we are appreciative of ExpressJet MEC chairman Bill Dressler and several of his pilots for their participation in this week’s event. We are moving forward and all pilots owe gratitude to those who stepped up this week and visibly displayed their commitment to the campaign. A list of the participants is posted on the calalpa.org website.
Our next event is currently being planned for July in EWR. Please stay informed and connected to your LEC communication process and P2P volunteers so you can be active in shaping your future.
In a short time, we have already accomplished a significant milestone and our credibility as a force is clearly recognized. It is important that we also credit company management for displaying an enlightened approach to working with us. There is no reason this cooperative approach can’t continue to define the process that can produce a win-win solution in Contract ’08.
Get involved and contact your LEC representatives and P2P volunteers. With your commitment and will to win, we will accomplish the mission.
“Fight’s on!”

Capt. Tom “Snake” Donaldson
CAL MEC Chairman

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Continental Pilots Rally at Shareholders’ Meeting
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This week, nearly 100 pilots attended the annual Continental Airlines Shareholders Meeting at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Houston. The solid turnout and professional conduct of the pilots involved sent a clear message to Continental management. Go to the calalpa.org website for photos and links to media stories.


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Crewroom Visits for June and July
MEC officers and P2P (Pilot-to-Pilot®) volunteers will be spending time in the crewrooms in the near future to speak with pilots about upcoming contract discussions and the direction of the association. MEC chairman Tom Donaldson, vice chairman Randy Hodge and Negotiating Committee chairman Jay Pierce will be in the IAH crewroom next week on Wednesday, June 20 from 1000-1300, armed with free pizza. They will host a similar visit in the CLE crewroom on July 11 and will be attending the EWR pilot event in July.

The days prior to and following these dates, P2P volunteers will be spending time in the crewrooms to speak with pilots. They can be identified by their red I.D. lanyard. Dates for P2P crewroom visits are IAH June 19 and 21; CLE June 10 and 12; EWR June 16 and 18. Mark these dates on your calendar and catch up on the latest news from an informed volunteer.

CAL MEC • calalpa.org • 281-987-3636 • UDO 888-990-4227



 
Grievance Committee Update – CLE-LGW Pairing
It has come to the attention of the Grievance Committee that the newly formed Fatigue Risk Management Task Force has identified that the temporarily built CLE-LGW pairings, built out of the IAH B-756 BES, have been flagged as a potential fatigue risk as it contains embedded back-to-back red-eye flights. As such, effective Saturday, June 16, the CLE-LGW IRO lines out of the EWR B-756 FO BES will have the IRO position working the eastbound CLE-LGW flights for the remainder of the month. Since this requires an earlier show time for the IRO pairings, those affected pairings have been cancelled, with the pilots receiving RX days with pay protection. The newly built IRO pairings that operate both directions will be placed into open time and will be available for pick up utilizing normal open time pick up rules. The CLE-LGW flights for July will return back to the EWR B-756 BES, which will alleviate the double red-eye situation.

Jumpseat Committee Update
The Jumpseat Committee has prepared a useful summer international travel jumpseat guide. It is posted on the Jumpseat Committee webpage on calalpa.org or Click here to read the Committee’s update.


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Membership Committee Update
The Membership Committee has been informed that two classes of new hires will be held now for the month of July. The July 10 and 17 classes will have twelve new hires in each class. This is up from the originally scheduled eight pilots for the month of July. Traditionally, the summer months are slow for new hire classes since most instructors are flying the line to cover increased block hours. Plans for additional classes in August have not yet been finalized by the company.

The latest Members in Good Standing (MIGS) list can be found on the membership tab of the calalpa.org website. If you would like to check the status (including accounting) of your account, log on to crewroom.alpa.org and look under the My ALPA tab. We encourage all Continental pilots to be Members in Good Standing with ALPA and we encourage all non-members to seek MIGS status. Our Members in Good Standing our the backbone of this union and we encourage the rest of you to join us.
Any problems with your membership status, billing, accounting, dues check off problems, etc. should be forwarded to ALPA Int’l. at [email protected].
Military Leaves and B-Plan
The company has started depositing the make-up B-Plan contributions for our pilots on Military Leaves of Absence since the inception of the Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (B-Plan). You should have received a letter from Charles Schwab similar to the following:
"Continental Airlines supports pilots who perform military service. You were eligible for B-Plan contributions based upon your deemed compensation during the period of your Military Leave. The employer contribution and/or adjustment to your previous employer contribution will be posted to your B-Plan account June 1, 2007. For your reference, attached is the letter dated March 13, 2007 regarding B-Plan Military Leave Contributions, which includes the calculation for the compensation used for this contribution. (Note: letter is not attached here, but was sent with the Schwab mailing.)
This contribution will be invested among the available investment fund options in accordance with your most recent B-Plan investment elections on file with Schwab. If you do not have a B-Plan investment election on file with Schwab, this contribution will be invested in the Moderate Mix Portfolio.
If you have any questions regarding this employer contribution, please contact Schwab at 1-888-863-4015."
If you did not receive a letter or have questions about this policy, contact one of your Military Liaisons for assistance.
 
Scheduling Committee Update on PBS
The transition to PBS was one of the major concessions contained in Contract '02. While we took steps to try and make it as palatable as possible, we have always been keenly aware that PBS, and more specifically the underlying scheduling rule changes, were a concession when compared to our former system of bidding.

There seems to be a perception by some that your union "owns the PBS system.” The answer to that concern is we do not. Our job from the beginning has been to attempt to block or at least mitigate the effects of the many onerous decisions made by the Company regarding the implementation of PBS. In other words, and as clichéd as it may sound, if you think you don't like it now, you really wouldn't like it had we not been involved from its inception.
We have had some limited success in mitigating some of the more onerous effects of the Company's implementation of PBS. However, certain work rules of Contract '02 (such as staffing, leaving no open time to adjust a line, CQP training, absence credit, etc.) have been, and continue to be, a roadblock to the system operating in a manner pilots would consider to be acceptable. Another issue: the program itself is not operating as efficiently as it should. The Company’s vendor (Jeppesen) was picked because their system held the most promise. It is imperative that Jeppesen live up to that expectation. Recently, we have been approached by other vendors who feel their products have improved since they were initially benchmarked over two years ago. In light of recent events, we feel revisiting them may be a worthy endeavor and the Company should embrace this. We have no sentimental attachment to Jeppesen. If they cannot deliver what was promised and another vendor can, then we need to make a change.
We do not consider the current end result (the lines) of our current PBS system to be an acceptable product. We have heard the frustration of the pilots and believe it is more than justified. You may have heard from the PBS Committee, "pilots just need to have realistic expectations when they bid.” This statement has been taken out of context. While it is certainly true for a lineholder at 80% in his or her BES who doesn't understand why they do not get weekends off, many pilots have perfectly realistic expectations that are not being met due to constraints resulting from a combination of the work rules, reductions in staffing and the operation of the PBS system itself.
Why aren’t fixes for the inputs to the system, such as changes in the aforementioned work rules, in place? It is not because we haven't asked/demanded countless times that they be put in place. It is not because exhaustive research determining what needs to change has not been done, and most certainly it is not because we feel the system is operating fine and does not require any fixes. Rather, it is simply because we, unfortunately, do not have a contractual right to insist upon these fixes and at this time the Company as been unwilling to grant these changes outside of contract talks.
Every day, we continue to press the Company to fulfill their obligation to our pilot group and deliver what was promised. We continue to push for the Dynamic Bid Model. In addition to the Dynamic Bid Model, we continue to stress, with waning patience, the need for the stand alone bid module, the expanded standing bid, as well as a host of other contractually required items. The question has been asked, “Why don’t we just sue Jeppesen for their failure to deliver?” The simple answer is that we are not a party to any contracts with Jeppesen.
We have recently filed two group grievances related to PBS. The first deals with the fact that the system cannot operate as it should within the allotted run time. This leads to bid groups being denied simply because the system did not have enough time to find the proper solution. The second is that the Company is not recognizing bid groups denied due to an invalid OSC (Overall Solution Constraints) during the dispute resolution process. We have found instances where a bid group was denied due to OSC and yet the dispute resolution committee was able to find a way for the bid group to be awarded. In some cases, the solution was as simple as a line swap with a more junior pilot.
We also continue to design and push for whatever limited improvements the Company is willing to grant. We are currently researching, through the use of numerous simulations, the impact future changes to our contractual language will have on the system. Now that the system is in place and new concepts can be modeled, we are in an infinitely better position to negotiate what needs to be changed to have the system work for us, rather than against us.
Last, we are not at all biased toward what type of bidding system we use (i.e. PBS versus hard lines). Further, we are not concerned with who the vendor may be. The only thing we are concerned with is that the Continental Airlines pilots get the best possible schedule they can, which is the very least they deserve. For as long as we continue to operate using a preferential bidding system or any other method for that matter, your Scheduling Committee will continue to attempt to do everything within our power to continue to improve upon that system. Whether the Company will finally recognize the quality of life sacrifices the pilot group has made, and demonstrate the goodwill to aid us in our endeavor, remains an open ended question.

Security Committee Update
Members of the CAL ALPA Security Committee and FFDO volunteers in late May and throughout June will brief Federal Air Marshals as they undergo recurrent training at the FAMS field office in Houston. Topics will include FAM aircraft boarding and crew briefing procedures; and FAM interaction with working and non-working FFDOs. Crew in-flight cockpit entry and exit procedures are being emphasized, including viewing of essential portions of the "Security in the Skies" cockpit entry video, produced by the CAL ALPA Security Committee in cooperation with Continental Airlines (available on the Continental CCS system).

To report general security-related issues, please log on to calalpa.org and then use the "Contact the Committee" button. The Committee can also be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
For FFDO-specific issues, use the same "Contact the Committee" button on the Security Committee web page, and/or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Takin' It Back Rally in EWR Aug. 13
The ALPA Takin’ It Back Rally that was originally planned for EWR earlier this year but cancelled due to inclement weather has been rescheduled for Aug. 13. Details will be provided as they become available.

LEC TIMES – SEND US YOUR ARTICLES
Pilots will begin to see the May/June issue of the LEC Times in the crew rooms next week. The Communications Committee is now looking for articles from pilots for the July/August issue. As we prepare for Contract ’08 negotiations, we would particularly like article submissions concerning Unity, Personal Preparation, Participation, etc.—articles that you believe will help fellow pilots focus on the Contract ’08 effort. Also, we welcome pilot personal stories or articles concerning other issues that are important to our pilot group. Articles may be sent to [email protected].

Pilot-to-Pilot is a registered mark of the Air Line Pilots Association, Intl.
 

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