Fedex MOAB is out

[Falconjet]

Man am I pumped to finally see this thing. Plus it will be a nice oppurtunity for me to get off of the slave ship.
But I do feel it necessary to point out the obvious...that this bid is coming out probably only days or weeks before the company makes a contract offer directly to the pilots that will not include all the things that our negotiating committee has been fighting for. Just a small oppurtunity to remind people to keep the big picture among the all the excitement!
Anyway going to be a lot of talk around the AOC this week!! Lots of new Captain wings going out soon!

Boost I don't think that the MOAB and an offer are tied to one another. Since we began negotiating in Mar 04 there have been 6 Postings with a total of 410 Widebody Captain and 40 727 Captain positions before this one. The Postings are just covering the growth and without them we would be leaving freight on the ground. So I don't think that this will necessarily be followed by an offer from the company to the Memphis mullet wrapper.

Not saying that they won't make an offer, but I don't think the MOAB is just a carrot to get us to jump on something that we otherwise wouldn't take. WE are way too smart for that. I think they need to get the training going and the newhires in the door so we can continue to grow and make huge sums of money.

Just another opinion.

FJ

 

[VaB]

Boost I don't think that the MOAB and an offer are tied to one another. Since we began negotiating in Mar 04 there have been 6 Postings with a total of 410 Widebody Captain and 40 727 Captain positions before this one. The Postings are just covering the growth and without them we would be leaving freight on the ground. So I don't think that this will necessarily be followed by an offer from the company to the Memphis mullet wrapper.

Not saying that they won't make an offer, but I don't think the MOAB is just a carrot to get us to jump on something that we otherwise wouldn't take. WE are way too smart for that. I think they need to get the training going and the newhires in the door so we can continue to grow and make huge sums of money.

Just another opinion.

FJ

Actually, I find the timing of this bid interesting also. All the rumors floating around right now have the negotiations stuff coming to a head in June (again I say RUMOR). And the bid closes around that same time frame. If the bid is cancelled or slid or somehow changes after several hundred guys are counting on upgrading and tons more are counting on lots of new seniority, things could quickly turn ugly. It's a tool right out of Union Breaking 101.

And before anyone says it, I know we are undermanned and there are a bunch of new (to us) planes coming that need pilots. But I would guess that saddling us with a less than great contract takes priority.

Hopefully, I'm just being paranoid. But I wouldn't spend my first 6 months of shiny new captain pay on a Harley or Vette or whatever until the money was in the bank.

 

[TheBaron]

Careful now "TheBaron" uke: will spit up purple colored vomit on you for saying that. He's doesn't want you raining on the purple kool-aid parade with any reality.

If the company wants to impress us they can do it with a contract, not more training dates for 'old book' rates and rules.

No purple kool-aid here. It just amazes me that some people that never had a civilian job before FedEx or any union dealings are so dang militant about negotiations. If the MEC thinks things are going badly and we need to apply more pressure, they should (and will) let us know. That is not what they have communicated in their recent message lines.

 

[AlbieF15]

Baron,

Most guys (like me) out of the military are initially very skeptical of the whole union thing. We've never been in one, and we don't always relate well to the hard line some of the more senior union guys initially show us during our first few months on the property. We relate our ACPs to our former squadron commanders, and the CP and or VP of flight ops to our old Wing leadership.

Then--you work the line a while. You see a few things. You hear a few things. You start to realize that while management guys may not be the devil, they are there to get a job done. You are labor. As that soaks in, you eventually realize that ALL we have is each other, and the union is a very important tool for not only wage negotiations, but safety, work rules, and a host of other concerns.

I find it ironic that many of our young union PTP guys and reps (including the strategic preparedness committee leader) are former military guys. The "morphing" of thinking usually doesn't happen overnight, but take a look at the 3-5 year guys and ask their opinions and I think you'll see what I'm talking about.

In any case--glad to be part of Fedex, and glad to be part of the FedEx MEC. Both have a job to do...hopefully we can get it done smoothly.

 

[TheBaron]

AlbieF15,
I agree with you that the union is all we have when it comes to our (pilot group) dealings with the company.
I disagree that most military pilots take much time to become gung-ho union supporters. Those with the ability to still fly in the reserves or guard tend to be the most vociferous when it comes to anti-management rhetoric and calls for job actions. From what I've seen, you are one of the level headed exceptions.
The point I was trying to make when I was accused of being some Purple-puking uke: management fan was this:
Not bidding for the wide-body slots doesn't help our cause in any way, nor does it hurt the company. There are plenty of Atlas, Polar, Gemini, ATI, Kalitta pilots with gobs of international Heavy experience that could make it through the training and become new-hire wide body Captains. Nothing in the contract to stop that if there are slots available and no one bids for them.
If "PurpleInMEM" wants to send a message to management, that's not the way.

 

[Frac Daddy]

?

My adobe reader is not working so I cannot view the FAQ right now. So forgive me if this has been answered:

I want the MD in LAX. If I cannot hold it, can I, for example, take the MD in MEM and slide over to LAX at a later date(when it becomes available)? Is there any sort of lock into base and/or equipment? I want to go through as few initial training cycles as possible. Thanks.

 

[FedEx1]

Baron is right sbout one thing. Some (not all of course) of the very gung-ho-stick-it-to-managment types have other flying jobs in the military. They make extra money there, fly there, and if things turn sour with Fedex, have a little more comfort than the rest of us. It's really easy to drop trips and not do carryover (and not do all the other crap- draft, extra fly, etc) if you got another source of income, that also keeps your flying skills current.

All I ask is that some guys be a little more sensitive to this. It's a bigger sacrifice for others.

 

[CaptainMark]

He sounds like exactly what he is, an Embry Rilddle punk that got lucky and got on with FedEx, upgraded and now thinks his $hit really doesn't stink cause he flies a "widebody". His screen name and avatar should be enough evidence.

haha..a little jealous are we? i read most of your previous posts...you are not liked by many and here is a quote from another member


"Do you ever post anything useful psysix? Every post I have seen of yours is nothing but flame trying to get a reaction? I am mad at myself right now for even typing a response."

half of FDX is ERAU and i may be a punk but u seem to be another disgruntled mesa pilot who is mad at the world..i feel sorry for u...and my $hit does stink and those who eat a lot of oatmeal will attest to that...and there are hundreds of members of this board with CPT in their screennames and avatars of the airlplanes they fly...but not yours(wonder why)...i won't waste more time on you any more..u have enough problems!...surfs up salt lake boy!

 

[Mr Zog]

Baron is right sbout one thing. Some (not all of course) of the very gung-ho-stick-it-to-managment types have other flying jobs in the military. They make extra money there, fly there, and if things turn sour with Fedex, have a little more comfort than the rest of us. It's really easy to drop trips and not do carryover (and not do all the other crap- draft, extra fly, etc) if you got another source of income, that also keeps your flying skills current.


All I ask is that some guys be a little more sensitive to this. It's a bigger sacrifice for others.

I don't understand your point. Are you saying Reservists/Guardsmen can have comfort in any type of job action (if it comes to that) and the rest of the pilot force can't. We are FedEx pilots. This military vs civilian goes out the window once we are hired and complete training. We are all the same. I would hope everyone would do what it takes to get a contract deserving of our contribution to the bottom line at FedEx. By the way, I am not in the guard or reserves, and I did not retire. Maybe the two 60 day deployments during Afghanistan had something to do with that (at the time I was an MD-11 F/O so you can say it cost me a few dollars). You look at only the positives of being a reservist or guardsmen. Ask some of the old United, Delta, or American Captains who got activated during Desert Storm? Wonder what type of paycut they took? Serving your country in any capacity is extremely honorable. Do people take advantage of it when conditions exist? Yes. But at the same time something goes off in Iran, and they are probably going to be away from family and friends for a long time; and at a substantial paycut. Plus everyone at FedEx should be prepared should things turn sour in negotiations. Not that anyone wants that.

 

[Los1]

Mr. Zog!!
Long time no see!!
How are you?
Hope all is well
Gonna move next bid?
Los1