JBLU works to fend off IAM

[Sailpilot]

MCO has their act together, great bunch at the gates and on the ramp.

If MCO becomes a base, is the Pool-parties at the hotel going away or do they just get bigger?

 

[Bavarian Chef]

So how do you handle it then? Do we continually pay ******************** wages only to fire and go through the entire process again? Cheap wages get what they fish for. I have met a number of the guys that work the ramp (I actually go down and play basketball with them) and most are not bad poeple in the least. That said, they are often from uneducted broken families where no work ethic rules have been established. I would guess that most of us on this board have had the benefit of a mother or father or both that kicked our collective asses if we steped out of line or performed poorly.

Those same guys are like any of us and crave leadership and respect. Perhaps if you or others would get out of your cockpit and talk one on one to them with your concerns for a union while recognizing that they have legitimate concerns we can avoid this fiasco.

Juice

Hey, no arrogance in my post (and no disrespect intended to those crewmembers that are on the ball at jfk), just reality as I see it in jfk. I do talk to those guys, when I can during a rare preflight (captain always seems to take the first leg so I get the redeye landing back into jfk at the end of the trip, damn).

I don't talk to them about unions, I think that's the company's job. And YES --- I think they need to be paid more (hint ... we all do at jb). And YES -- we need to hire more ground ops / gate personnel (hint ... we do at almost every blue station).

As for the work ethic, if you haven't seen what I see in jfk then I guess you are lucky or I am unfortunate. Its frustrating because so much of our future success hinges on our performance into and out of jfk.


SAILPILOT -- when the crew lodge goes up, recurrent will be once a month. Bring your own pinata.

 

[Bavarian Chef]

NMB denied IAM request -- the union didn't have the 35% it needed. I guess more to follow.

No unions at jb ... yet.

 

[Sluggo_63]

A word about PTO. I'm a new B6 pilot, hired 2/15/06. I used the PTO I accrued since date of hire to drop trips in July, the only month where vacation with the family works. Ended up with the first 14 days off in a row, total of 23 days off and 83 hrs credit. The system isn't perfect, but it could be a lot worse. I think the ground folks have a similar program although not sure about that.

Later,
The Pig

Just a question. Not a flame, just want to understand.

If, God forbid, in August you were diagnosed with something that's going to keep you out of the cockpit for a few months, and you used your PTO for vacation in July, do you not get paid sick time off?

 

[zkmayo]

you can run a significant negative balance into your pto time if it comes to that. i know of one person who has a negative 100 hour pto balance.

 

[side stick-n]

There seems to be a misconception regarding PTO and Sick Time at JB. In reality, they are one in the same. One earns PTO hours per month from the beginning of their employment. In the case of pilots, it's 9 hours per month. Those hours can be used as PTO (Personal Time Off), vacation, or sick time. That's 108 hours earned per calender year. A vacation week is worth 35 hours so if you never get sick, you could take 3 weeks of vacation after the first full year of employment. Or you could use those hours at different times during the year to improve the QOL or to just get rid of a pairing you really don't want to fly. The great thing about this is that YOU are 100% responsible for how you spend your PTO. Unlike the unused sick time I left on the table at my previous employer, our PTO, vacation and sick time comes out of one big pot. In addition, we have the option of selling any excess PTO back to the company. This will eliminate ever reaching the PTO cap and losing those hours each month that could be turned into income.

 

[Getter]

There seems to be a misconception regarding PTO and Sick Time at JB. In reality, they are one in the same. One earns PTO hours per month from the beginning of their employment. In the case of pilots, it's 9 hours per month. Those hours can be used as PTO (Personal Time Off), vacation, or sick time. That's 108 hours earned per calender year. A vacation week is worth 35 hours so if you never get sick, you could take 3 weeks of vacation after the first full year of employment. Or you could use those hours at different times during the year to improve the QOL or to just get rid of a pairing you really don't want to fly. The great thing about this is that YOU are 100% responsible for how you spend your PTO. Unlike the unused sick time I left on the table at my previous employer, our PTO, vacation and sick time comes out of one big pot. In addition, we have the option of selling any excess PTO back to the company. This will eliminate ever reaching the PTO cap and losing those hours each month that could be turned into income.

Never knew a whole lot about The JB, but after reading through the posts here tonight, JB kind of reminds me of some religious cult.

 

[Sluggo_63]

you can run a significant negative balance into your pto time if it comes to that. i know of one person who has a negative 100 hour pto balance.

Thanks

 

['LUVIN LIFE]

Trying to understand. So there is no vacation bid? What if everybody wants Christmas off and uses their PTO to drop a trip which conflicts. Then what? I just find it hard to believe that one can use PTO to drop any trip whenever they want.

 

[sayagain?]

[quote='LUVIN LIFE]Trying to understand. So there is no vacation bid? What if everybody wants Christmas off and uses their PTO to drop a trip which conflicts. Then what? I just find it hard to believe that one can use PTO to drop any trip whenever they want.[/quote]

There is a vacation bid at JB. As for dropping any trip you want, as long as there are adequate reserve coverage for the days you want to drop, then it's ok.
Not everyone will get the holidays off, but, if you keep an eye on the reserve coverage, you may just get lucky as a junior line holder or reserve pilot to get Christmas off. I did.