Contrary to your belief, the company just wants you all to do your job. That's it.
Be one of the 3%ers and you're name becomes known fairly quick.
SG
SG,
Most of your points are well thought out and salient. You seem to have a pretty good handle on most of the technical aspects of our jobs on the road. T-1 has it pegged about what's going on its us, and in fact he was being kind. He's left out an awful long list of things this EMT has been doing or cutting to intentionally make our lives miserable out there. And scheduling is just plain off the hook crazy. Mostly they are just trying to keep up and fill holes in the schedule, but I've been here too long and experienced too much not to also be able to recognize punitive scheduling as well.
But I wanted to focus on what you wrote above. I do believe there is a misunderstanding with that. In fact, the company does NOT want us to just do our jobs. Why? Because part of our jobs is following the regulations, and in fact is REQUIRED by the law to do so. Unfortunately, there is HUGE pressure from the company to not do that. Wish you could be out here when I go to write up a problem with the plane and get massive pushback from maintenance about it. The excuses from mx start flying, they invent procedures and standards (yes they do, and they back off quickly on that crap IF you call them on it. "Oh, sure, I'll try xyz if you fax me the FAA APPROVED guidance that says this is legal and acceptable and sign your name with it.". Amazing how fast it always becomes "Just write it up.")
Our current CBA allows for no-questions-asked fatigue calls. Recently, the company has started willfully violating that section by bringing people who fatigue "too much" (I put that in quotes because they REFUSE to clue us in on what they're using as a definition of "too much") into CMH for questioning. Yes, the union is challenging this issue, but it takes time. Meanwhile, it's intimidation, plain and simple, to do something that's A) in violation of the CBA and B) could just as easily be handled by a phone call if they were so worried about our health (as they claim is the reason for bringing folks in for questioning).
And heaven help you if you call in sick just before or after a vacation. Now, before you tell me some may be abusing the sick calls in order to extend their vacations, let me say I agree with that observation. However, please remember that most of our crews have reached the max of 4 weeks of vacation. If you look at it, that means there are 8 tours (out of 22 worked every year) that bracket vacations. That's more than 25% of our tours that touch a vacation period. So isn't it possible that if we come down with an illness there's a decent chance it will impact a tour either before or after a vacation? After vacations are especially vulnerable as we've just spent three straight weeks in contact with our kids who are regular petri dishes. And yet, the company has sent out a very blatant message of intimidation that calling in sick just before or after a vacation will result in being out on NQC status for an investigation, and in fact have already fired someone for a post-vacation sick call.
After having typed all that, my point is that the FAR's REQUIRE we self-evaluate our fitness for flight. Calling in sick and/or fatigued is REQUIRED by the FAR's if we don't feel fit for flight. Yet the company, by it's actions, has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt, that they do NOT want us doing that part of our jobs along with the write ups.
Now let's get back to that 3%. Unfortunately, a lot of pilots are caving to the company's intimidation tactics. They carry, or flat out ignore, maintenance issues, and never call in sick or fatigued. So what happens when someone who simply does their job per the FAR's gets a plane after someone who is "just doing their job." (as defined by the company)? I'm not talking negotiation work tactics, as you might call it. I'm just talking about doing the job like the law says it MUST be done. Well, here's what happens. I am almost grounding a plane a day during my tours anymore. Why? Because I'm a union thug? No, because other crews are not writing up planes when they should be, so when I get them I have to do it. I'm not talking about obscure crap that you really have to dig for, I'm talking obvious stuff that you'd have to close your eyes during the preflight to miss. Seriously! I'd take a swag that better than 60% of what I find should have been found by a previous crew. That's sad and scary. So I do what I am REQUIRED to do and the result is I'm probably listed at B'way as one of the 3%'ers. I can't tell you the number of sick days I've burned in the past 2 years because I get paired with idiots who come to work sick and inevitably infect me. So the guy who "gets the job done" (at the expense of his coworkers and pax) is making the company happy while I, who actually call in sick when I'm sick, get to become a 3%'er.
So please don't be so quick to peg the 3%'ers as the folks who like to make waves and just don't want to fly. Like I said, I know there is a very small handful of pilots who are on a vendetta, but statistically are really insignificant.
Furthermore, the company loves it when we focus on the "troublesome 3% who just don't want to fly.". That way, we aren't paying attention to those who are flying when completely fatigued but who NEVER make that call. The ones who NEVER write up planes when it'll impact a pax trip, no matter the problem. The ones who horde sick days to sell back at the expense of infecting everyone around them. These are the guys who make the company happy, right up until they kill someone. These are the folks who worry me far more than the very rare abuser of the system who may cause my day to be a few hours longer.
