When will the MEM pilots 'get it'???

[USMCFDX]

Here is an idea:

How about we do not fly disputed parings until they are assigned to a reserve guy.

This is a legal thing for the union to ask us to do and some guys can not even do that.

 

[PurpleTail]

Mem 11 here also and not called for DFT.....

Past....

Ok, I want to formally say that I am sorry for accusing EVERY MEM -11 pilot of geting called for DFT trips, it might have been a bit of an over statement.

I guess the schedulers do know who their favorite pets are and call the same ones first.

 

[Huck]

By the way, has ANY MD11 f/o ever been able to drop a reserve day?

I have tried to drop every single reserve day for two months, with "insufficient reserves" stopping me every time.

Back on the Boeing it was a cinch to drop reserve days....

 

[AlbieF15]

I've dropped tons of trips since May 05 without any trouble on the 727 F/O seat. Also dropped a string of R days this month without any problems.

...and that is one reason I didn't upgrade...

I thought I'd enjoy this job for the money and flying. What I have discovered I LOVE about the job is flexibility. Being on a properly (or perhaps overmanned?) seat allows me to max flex my schedule to meet ANG obligations without having to deal with all the mil leave headaches.

 

[PastV1]

Althought the next night Scheds did call for DFT. THe answering machine got it...

Past......

 

[fox3]

Nope

By the way, has ANY MD11 f/o ever been able to drop a reserve day?

I have tried to drop every single reserve day for two months, with "insufficient reserves" stopping me every time.

Back on the Boeing it was a cinch to drop reserve days....

I've been trying to drop 3 days ever since OT came out and haven't been able to do it. Now, it looks like they just quit processing my requests. The last one's been sitting there over 24 hours.

 

[VaB]

I've been trying to drop 3 days ever since OT came out and haven't been able to do it. Now, it looks like they just quit processing my requests. The last one's been sitting there over 24 hours.

I think they're tightening down the screws. I can't even trade trips with open time. And my latest requests have been in the queue for over 24 hours now also.

Guess you guys that won't "help out" and fly extra are messing it up for the rest of us.

 

[Goose17]

computers down

I too had a trip trade pending for a long time. I called the scheduler yesterday to see what was up. She said a computer system was down and the geeks were working on it - not sure when it would be up again, but it is preventing scheduling from doing the trades/drops.

Goose17

 

[fbandit327]

Looks like some of the MEM 727 Capts are finally starting to get it. Finally a bunch of open time remaining 3 days into trading. Unfortunately, the system is "down" and the only thing sched's can process is a mutual swap request. Hope everyone realizes that the record profits need to start coming in our direction...my union speaks for me.

 

[sandman2122]

In my few years on the Airbus I've never been denied a drop due to "insufficient Reserves".........maybe things are getting uncomfortable with the manning levels...who knows.

Either way, I feel like I'm having a vision problem when it comes to work....

 

[Osmosis]

Here is an idea:

How about we do not fly disputed parings until they are assigned to a reserve guy.

This is a legal thing for the union to ask us to do and some guys can not even do that.

For the second month in a row, all the disputed pairings for Boeing F/Os were gobbled up by noon Friday after Open time was released.

Who are these guys and what are they smoking?

 

[Huck]

I've been trying to swap away a couple of RFO trips with open time. I kept getting "Insufficient reserves." Evidently you can't swap a trip unless TWO reserve pilots are available for that trip's footprint.

And I also repeatedly tried to drop every R day in my carryover. They've quit even responding to those (it's been ~ 24 hours).

A word of warning: if you have carryover, don't expect to bid a VTO and get rid of it. They protect minimum days off, that's all. They told me to "just request to drop" them....

 

[PurpleHaze]

Keep yourself on the Call List for Draft! Ask for the Trip/Pairing number and tell them you'll get back to them if interested...NOT!

Later, see who accepted the Draft. Next time you see them you can thank them for increasing your profit sharing check... Heck, tell everyone how Joe Sack of Dollars is working so diligently to help increase out stock dividends... what a guy!

 

[USMCFDX]

New stickers from the guys in Subic:

"Monkeys are smarter than you"
"2 years 2 long what are YOU doing?"

 

[Diesel]

well echopapa is one of those guys that just doesn't get it. He keeps saying the union has not said it and he takes the announcements to bend and mold to make sure that HE alone keeps making money.

Enjoy the slow process of negotiations because the company loves lone rangers like yourself.

 

[active_herk]

Hmmmmm....... echopapa is phonetic equivalent for E P. Do you think E P stands for Extra Pay?

 

[stonewall]

Actually alot of trips in open time from now until July 5th for the right seat of the Boeing. Of course, the rest of the month has been snapped up. I hope everyone takes the time to enjoy the July 4 holiday and not "have" to work by picking up these trips.

Seems like alot of stuff in open time for the -11, but I don't usually track that seat.

 

[AdlerDriver]

Echopapa (part 1)

Mr. Echopapa,
I’m going to assume you are operating the way you do out of ignorance and a lack of experience with a union attempting to get a new contract. Your profile suggests that Fedex may be your first civilian job and first experience in an ALPA represented flying job. Unfortunately, many ex-military pilots used to their former environment don’t quite “get” the big picture when they join a union like ALPA. I’ll try not to attack because of your uninformed status. Several comments in your posts are just flat wrong.

1. Not flying overtime has not helped UPS in the pace or effectiveness of their negotiations, why would it help us?………

UPS, like FedEx, has an amazing amount of slop in their system. …... We have tons of reserve, airport standbys, sweep flights, hotel standbys and half full planes that can be re-routed.
.

When I flew my last trip, not one aircraft I flew had “UPS” painted on the side and none of them were brown. What is working or not at UPS is irrelevant. Maybe they don’t plan their manning and schedules as tight as we do. If we have all the “slop” in our system that you claim, make the company use it. We’ll never know how easy it is to adjust with all that “slop” unless we try. That will take time and effort and will be noticed. Maybe things on “Le Airbus” are not as tight. So, does that mean you get a pass and can draft while the bros on the Boeing, MD and -10 hold the line?

2. The union has not taken a position on this matter.

As I see it there are only two reasons. First, it could be interpreted as an illegal job action. Or second, it is not helpful to our negotiations at this time.

3. The union speaks clearly.

They don't want us to fly disputed pairings....that could not be more clear. The union has said to fly the contract...we fly the contract.

I CHALLANGE ANYONE TO PROVIDE CONCRETE UNION GUIDANCE SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSING OVERTIME FLYING.

This statement is total BS. First, as someone else said, it is illegal for ALPA to tell you not to draft or AVA, etc. You need to open you eyes/ears just a little and look past official statements. If you bothered to go to a hub meeting, you would not be able to walk away believing your #2 statement. I accept your challenge above: Maybe you need to sign up for the ALPA MEC emails. I guess you missed the following statements in an official ALPA email to Fedex pilots on 6/14/06:

“It is the proverbial elephant in the room and since it encompasses several different facets, let's just call it "extra effort" - the historical and almost genetically driven quality in a FedEx pilot to perform beyond the call of duty as a matter of reflex. Fiduciaries are compelled to write around the issue as a matter of responsibility. Crossing the National Mediation Board (NMB) can have unwanted consequences at the table and while our negotiating team can certainly always use any support, we, as a group, have to be cognizant that we walk a line as we try to provide that support.
One of the boundaries of protocol that your MEC acknowledges is that "individual decisions of conscience" must be just that, absent solicitation or coercion from them or you. We have written the obvious in the past: that the actions of every pilot here, taken individually and collectively, matter very much. They are certainly the subject of regular and routine scrutiny by management's advisors and lieutenants. Nothing has changed there. What also has not changed is that you have a right to use your own brain to decide what that means for you, all by yourself.”


“So, as best as I can represent (with a legal chop as part of the requisite), here is another reminder about both edges of the sword. First, individual decisions must be that. Posting others' schedules on bulletin boards or making intimidating phone calls can't be sanctioned or ignored. Don't do it. On the other hand, your historical preferences for managing your professional life as an individual do not affect your current rights under this contract. Those rights are the same every day you wake up and are not abrogated by what you did yesterday. In other words, you are free every day to act your conscience and common sense.
Moving forward, if every pilot here merely laced their shoes the same way on the same day, somebody paid to notice such things would. And then it would be reported up their food chain as an "event." So, be aware: the topic being discussed here transcends the obvious. It is about everything you do in the capacity of being a FedEx pilot, just with the additional dimension of being most obvious and persuasive if done in numbers.”


I would say I just met your challenge.

(continued)…………….

 

[AdlerDriver]

Echopapa (pt 2)

4. To stop flying overtime now will take away a negotiating tool when it is legal and most effective.

If we implement a word of mouth campaign slowly and haphazardly to stop extra flying, the company will time to effectively modify its manning or schedules to cope with the change.

A better alternative is, once released into self help, for the union to take an offical position to stop overtime and implement it on a specific day. The more dependant the company is on overtime flying now the more effective it will be for us when it is legal to take away later.

YGBSM!! You don’t think the company has a plan to deal with a legal self-help job action? We’re going to “ambush” them with our secret plan to stop overtime once we’re released? Give me a break! You are kidding yourself. How about doing EVERYTHING we can now to avoid being release at all!!! Have you ever been on strike? I haven’t. But I’ve worked another ALPA carrier with ugly strikes in their past. 20 years after the fact, the repercussions are still evident. It is truly a last resort. We have the opportunity to show our resolve and bring the company to the table with a real proposal. They rely so heavily on the greed or ignorance of pilots like you, it is amazing. Even if they could get by with the “slop” in our schedule if no one flew draft or volunteered, they would at least understand they were dealing with a unified group that is willing to do what it takes. Right now, guys like you are giving them confidence in the possibility that they can make us blink.

If the union can't advocate an action because its potentially illegal what makes you think that its legal for you to do so? ...

Another “Give me a break!” moment. You don’t HAVE to draft or volunteer. You can fly your contract to the LETTER – do nothing extra and you are operating legally. Are you really that ignorant?

All it would take is one flight with you pressuring a crew member who is on draft for you to lose your job. Or even better, start opening your mouth about not flying draft on the crew bus and have the wrong guy listening. Then instead of worrying about negotiating our contract our union has to try and bail your a$$ out and then explain to the NMB why our membership is acting unlawfully.

No one is saying to do any of the above. As ALPA’s email said, it is an “individual choice”. You shouldn’t be pressuring any crew members, period. Just worry about yourself (obviously more than enough responsibility for you at this point). Spouting off in a public forum (crew bus) about individual choices is stupid – so another easy fix – don’t do it.

You may call me paranoid...and perhaps I am...but I fully expect that we are being watched and tracked very closely to see if we have changed our normal behavior as a result of contract negotiations....taxi speed, frequency of mx write-ups, number of sick calls...you name it...

You are paranoid. If you operate within the rules of the contract, it doesn’t matter who is watching you. If your “normal behavior” isn’t following the contract and the FARs, maybe you have other problems. There are lots of individual choices that you can make which can have a serious effect on our negotiations. All of them are the SAFEST option. How are you going to get yourself in trouble by doing the following things in the name of SAFETY:
· Taxi at the low end of the allowable speeds – it is safer.
· If something is broken, write it up. It is safer. Don’t make stuff up or intentionally break something. However, don’t carry write-ups back to MEM. Write it up when it breaks and deal with the delay, if any. Somebody calls you on that; your next call should be to ALPA and maybe the FAA.
· If your flight plan says, “.80” – fly it, it is safer.
· Are you accepting direct routings? It’s safer to stay on the flight plan.
· Are you waiving duty times during irregular ops? That’s obviously not safe.
· Are you flying on the barber pole to get back so you can make your jumpseat or some other personal agenda? Not safe. Plus, if you can’t even make that sacrifice, are you really going to be able to do more than that if it comes to it?

There’s obviously many, many more individual choices you can make that are SAFE and as a side benefit, can have a serious effect on negotiations. I know it goes against everything we are used to when we refuse to go the extra mile. Unfortunately, that’s all the company understands. Most airlines run smoothly because pilots are type-A, do what it takes folks. We see a train-wreck about to happen and we go outside our normal, contractually expected duties to make things happen and avoid the wreck. Right now, if it’s not in your job description and responsibilities, let the person who is responsible take care of it. If every Fedex pilot flew the contract, operated SAFELY, didn’t help other employees do their jobs and of course didn’t draft or volunteer, we’d have a contract very, very quickly. Draft and volunteering are just the tip of the iceberg. You could at least start there. Grow a pair and maybe you can move on past the kindergarten stage of “How to conduct yourself during protracted contract negotiations.”

 

[FedEx1]

At least now we know who is doing all that draft flying........


I won't do draft, extra flying, etc. (Disputing pairings are a totally separate issue- it has nothing to do with negociations!!!! Just don't do them... Ever.)

But I will fly direct if I can- it is safe (duh)- and I will fly the speed that they want me to- ECON. Which is usually .83 or .84.