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.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Barger expects additional unions to try to represent JetBlue employees, but the best way to fend off those groups is to take a cooperative approach with employees. "Why should crewmembers pay a third party to talk to me," he said. "Let's just sit down and talk about any concerns and solve it together."

This comment is right out of union (busting) 101.

It sounds great but it is really not workable. That is one of the primary points of representation.

First, most employees don't feel comformatable, by themselves, addressing thier concerns, pay, work rules and grievences. Would you like to sit down with Barger? He probably doesn't have time for each employee so he'll send some one to represent him. (so now he has representation but you don't) Or maybe he'll just send out a memo. It's hard to negotiate with a memo or even a mid level manager that says "Let me call my boss...... he said no". It's like buying a car and the clown, I mean salesman, always gets up and goes behind close doors to talk to his manager about your offer.

In addition, how do you just sit down and work together? All together in a hangar? at a hotel? Now a panel of Jb management is going to address the concerns a large employee group.

What am I missing?

There is nothing wrong with representation. In fact it is one of the corner stone rights of America.

I am intrested to see how JB management handles this union drive. I think they will operate above board. However, whenever any management team, (not necessarily JB) goes negative (Read Confessions of a Union Buster) it shows true colors.

If Jb can keep the IAM at bay, and the employees are happy... that is a good thing...

 

[elag777]

[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 has to be sufficient reserves to UTO or PTO a trip. If there are not sufficient reserves available the request is denied in Flica. There is a vacation bid, I think it was in Oct or Nov last year for '06

 

[zkmayo]

This comment is right out of union (busting) 101.

It sounds great but it is really not workable. That is one of the primary points of representation.

First, most employees don't feel comformatable, by themselves, addressing thier concerns, pay, work rules and grievences. Would you like to sit down with Barger? He probably doesn't have time for each employee so he'll send some one to represent him. (so now he has representation but you don't) Or maybe he'll just send out a memo. It's hard to negotiate with a memo or even a mid level manager that says "Let me call my boss...... he said no". It's like buying a car and the clown, I mean salesman, always gets up and goes behind close doors to talk to his manager about your offer.

In addition, how do you just sit down and work together? All together in a hangar? at a hotel? Now a panel of Jb management is going to address the concerns a large employee group.

What am I missing?

There is nothing wrong with representation. In fact it is one of the corner stone rights of America.

I am intrested to see how JB management handles this union drive. I think they will operate above board. However, whenever any management team, (not necessarily JB) goes negative (Read Confessions of a Union Buster) it shows true colors.

If Jb can keep the IAM at bay, and the employees are happy... that is a good thing...

Actually, it is as easy as he says it is. In my less than two years here, I have seen Dave Barger at least once a month. He, as our entire management, are extremely approachable and open door and do an excellent job at keeping us informed about what is happening within the co. All go by theyre first names to that end. I approached him at a meal recently and told him about a problem that many of us were encountering at a certain airport. He said the co would follow up on it.

Until this approach drastically changes, most here on the pilot side would rather do without a union.

 

[Sailpilot]

This comment is right out of union (busting) 101.

It sounds great but it is really not workable. That is one of the primary points of representation.

First, most employees don't feel comformatable, by themselves, addressing thier concerns, pay, work rules and grievences. Would you like to sit down with Barger? He probably doesn't have time for each employee so he'll send some one to represent him. (so now he has representation but you don't) Or maybe he'll just send out a memo. It's hard to negotiate with a memo or even a mid level manager that says "Let me call my boss...... he said no". It's like buying a car and the clown, I mean salesman, always gets up and goes behind close doors to talk to his manager about your offer.

In addition, how do you just sit down and work together? All together in a hangar? at a hotel? Now a panel of Jb management is going to address the concerns a large employee group.

What am I missing?

There is nothing wrong with representation. In fact it is one of the corner stone rights of America.

I am intrested to see how JB management handles this union drive. I think they will operate above board. However, whenever any management team, (not necessarily JB) goes negative (Read Confessions of a Union Buster) it shows true colors.

If Jb can keep the IAM at bay, and the employees are happy... that is a good thing...

Do you work for Jetblue?

From your post, I would have to say that you have no idea how it works at our airline. I saw Dave 3 times within 4 weeks and he asked me about our first conversation during the 3rd converstation. I also sent an email about a benefits issue and had responses from everyone involved within 2 hours. DB was the first responding very empathically within 20 minutes.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Actually, it is as easy as he says it is. In my less than two years here, I have seen Dave Barger at least once a month. He, as our entire management, are extremely approachable and open door and do an excellent job at keeping us informed about what is happening within the co. All go by theyre first names to that end. I approached him at a meal recently and told him about a problem that many of us were encountering at a certain airport. He said the co would follow up on it.

Until this approach drastically changes, most here on the pilot side would rather do without a union.

I wasn't discussing current policy and resovling those issues...............

Do you work for Jetblue?

From your post, I would have to say that you have no idea how it works at our airline. I saw Dave 3 times within 4 weeks and he asked me about our first conversation during the 3rd converstation. I also sent an email about a benefits issue and had responses from everyone involved within 2 hours. DB was the first responding very empathically within 20 minutes.

I was refering to future policy.......

 

[Fins Up]

For you non-JetBlue folks who have unions and are glad of it, good for you. It is obvious that we JetBlue folks - pilots, FA's, ground, etc. - don't want a union here. Good for us.

There is no need to try to push the merits of a union here. As long as the employees are happy, there is no need for a union. Of course there is no guarantee that there will never be a union at JB, but I personally hope there is never a need for one.

Call it blue koolaid or whatever, but we have a good thing going here. A union would just screw things up.

 

[FlyAuburn]

For you non-JetBlue folks who have unions and are glad of it, good for you. It is obvious that we JetBlue folks - pilots, FA's, ground, etc. - don't want a union here. Good for us.

There is no need to try to push the merits of a union here. As long as the employees are happy, there is no need for a union. Of course there is no guarantee that there will never be a union at JB, but I personally hope there is never a need for one.

Call it blue koolaid or whatever, but we have a good thing going here. A union would just screw things up.

Amen to that!

 

[Longhorn]

For you non-JetBlue folks who have unions and are glad of it, good for you. It is obvious that we JetBlue folks - pilots, FA's, ground, etc. - don't want a union here. Good for us.

There is no need to try to push the merits of a union here. As long as the employees are happy, there is no need for a union. Of course there is no guarantee that there will never be a union at JB, but I personally hope there is never a need for one.

Call it blue koolaid or whatever, but we have a good thing going here. A union would just screw things up.

:beer: 100% agreed!!

 

[Bill Nelson]

Someone called IAM and showed interest. Then an addtional 35% signed cards stating they would like their representation. Obviously some folk at JB would like to have IAM represent them.

 

[Longhorn]

Yea, its the JFK and IAD people...Mostly JFK. The majority of the folk there are making 11-14 an hour and living in one of the most expensive cities in the country. When I ask those outside of NY and DC they say HELL NO!!...They dont want them. The thing is that JFK more than likely has 35% or close to it just there. Anyways, will be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully their issues will be resolved without outside interest.