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Straight shootin' about JetBlue

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Tip Tank

Active member
Joined
Feb 24, 2005
Posts
29
I've been reading around on these boards and I'm sure the truth is out there, but between everyone taking a swat at JetBlue and a lot of misinformation, I'm still a little confused about the 5-year contract.

What is it? Is it a promissory note (IOU) or what? What is the penalty for leaving (should one choose to do so)? Is the company obligated in any way in the contract or is it simply a retention tool to control turnover? What happens after five years (I hear that some of the first to sign the contract are coming up on their five year anniversary)?

Looking forward to a straight answer.

Thanks fellas,
- TT
 
"I hear that some of the first to sign the contract are coming up on their five year anniversary"

Plenty of them are past the five year mark, a non event!
 
Nothing happens. At the five year point, the contract renews. They send you a copy, you sign it and then send it back. That's it.

There are no strings, except on the company side. You can leave anytime you want. If you are furloughed, you're still paid guarantee through the end of your contract.

Why isn't the contract perpetual, i.e. of indeterminate length? I don't have a good answer for that. Maybe the five year figure was thrown out there by the lawyers to put a dollar figure on the company's potential liability in a downturn. Do I like it? Well, not exactly, but I don't give it much thought either. Noone has ever been nonrenewed and for morale and other very good reasons I don't see it ever happening.
 
Just a question.

So in a down turn Jet Blue starts to furlough(lets just say), it’s not by seniority its by who ever is coming up on the end of their contract? That really does not seem very fair. Is there any guarantee that it will go in seniority order. But if they have to pay you on furlough why you still have a contract, I don’t see how it could go in seniority order.
 
Blue Dude said:
There are no strings, except on the company side. You can leave anytime you want. If you are furloughed, you're still paid guarantee through the end of your contract.

That's not a bad gig at all then. You can leave without penalty anytime but JB is committed to paying you, even if furloughed through the whole five year contract? Kinda backwards from what I was expecting...
 
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Nobody will know what is hiding in the fine print until the next big airline downturn. . .
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Tip Tank said:
That's not a bad gig at all then. You can leave without penalty anytime but JB is committed to paying you, even if furloughed through the whole five year contract? Kinda backwards from what I was expecting...

I have never seen this contract, but I will say this. Any company that makes you sign a contract is not doing so to protect you. They are protecting themselves. Like Capt. (sel) klhoard said above, I'm sure there is some fine print involved.

Goose17
 
I've seen it. I have a copy of one. Well, I have a copy of a version of it from 2 years ago; I've been told the new one they're signing these days is different but better.

It looks good to me, as far as it goes. There are some really nifty provisions. I like the part about being paid in training, and I like the part about being paid even if furloughed.

I don't like the part about being an At-Will employee. Yes, even with the contract, the pilot is an At-Will employee. As much as folks will insist that nobody has been NOT renewed, the fact remains that a pilot MIGHT not be renewed if he were known to be a union organizer.

Those types of contracts are made to be broken. The cost to the Company of breaking one of those contracts would be, in the grand scheme of things, miniscule.


The strangest part of it, in my mind, is why it's so secretive. Find a JetBlue pilot that will show you a copy of his contract...






(No, there's no non-disclosure clause in it.)






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Ridethelightning,

No, they would furlough in seniority order, its just that they would pay you guarantee each month for the amount of time left on your contract.


Tony C,

I have mine filed away in my desk at home. Its about 20 pages of 8 1/2" by 11", not bound like my last ALPA contract, and it sent to newhires shortly after the employment offer. There are two copies sent--one to sign and return, and one for your records. Its pretty straightforward and Jetblue hasnt been the type of place where you need to go digging into your contract to see if the co violated it so there is not really much of a need to carry it around. Its not really all that exciting of a document. If you have a friend here, ask to see their's sometime. Im sure almost everyone files it away in a safe place too.
 
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