F/a Sick Call Comparison From Last Year

[songbirdstew]

Folks,
Here are the number of sick calls from this year as compared to last year. I copied this from John McCorkle's newsletter...he always does his homework and has the facts.......

The company said that the amount of sick calls tripled.....see for yourself from the numbers below........they should have known these numbers would get out. While I don't condone calling in sick when you are not, neither do I condone placing blame on the wrong party...as far as I am concerned, there is clearly mismanagement here......they need to quit pointing fingers and playing the blame game....but I'm not surprised as this is what they are best at. Shame on them....and they wonder why so many folks just don't care anymore.......
here's an excerpt from the newsletter......



FA CLT representative, Mr. M. Flores, said that sick calls "skyrocketed" this Christmas. Huh? Let's examine those days around Christmas, in which US Airways had to cancel so many flights:

On Dec. 23, 2003, there were 249 flight attendant sick calls.
On Dec. 23, 2004, there were 263 flight attendant sick calls. (+14 more sick calls isn't skyrocketing).

On Dec. 24, 2003, there were 261 flight attendant sick calls.
On Dec. 24, 2004, there were 238. (A skyrocketing decrease?)

On Christmas Day 2003, there were 298 flight attendant sick calls.
On Christmas Day 2004, there were 306. "Watch out folks, this number is skyrocketing by eight."

December 26, 2003 -- 265 f/a sick calls
December 26, 2004 -- 311 (+46) more like 'bottle rocket' than skyrocket


Happy New Year and God Bless !

 

[USFlyer]

I'm so tired of seeing these statistics. Bottom line, if you're not sick, don't call in sick. How many of the 249 in 2003 were actually sick? How do the holiday sick calls compare to regular sick calls? If people are properly using sick time, why would there be a spike around the holidays (if in fact there is a spike)? Sure, the company is poorly staffed. But, there's NO money left to bulk up the staff. Comparing 2004 to any other year is pointless, as US was a different business in 2003, 02, etc.

I'll admit I always go to work. I've only used sick time once in my life, and that was due to surgery. I would also not go to work if I were running a fever, as that just gets everyone else sick. I'm also one of those 'perfect attendance award' people from high school, so I have little sympathy when people call in sick just because they sneezed. Fevers, surgery, bacterial infections where you were just put on antibiotics, etc. are perfectly legit, but I know lots of people who call in sick due to low grade colds, everyday aches, etc.

 

[the turtle]

Washington Post Business section yesterday came clean on the numbers as well. However, it was buried on page 5. Guess it wasn't newsworthy enough.

 

[MarkMyWords]

So because we had a high number of sick calls last Christmas that means that we should tolerate a sick call volume as high this year? What the heck kind of logic is that? If we have an average of 80 sick calls a day for the flight attendant group, we are supposed accept and plan for 280 sick calls on a holiday? How the hell do you do that?

Comparing year over year figures for a 3 day period isn't the full picture. If normal sick calls are 80 a day and that number triples over a holiday, then the problem isn't the number of flight attendants we have, it is the number that are willing to work over the holiday.

11 and a half months of the year you can read on hear about how reserve flight attendants are not breaking guarantee and have taken huge paycuts (from when they were block holders). So how is there a staffing shortage if you are only short 3-4 days a year? If 90% of the reserve flight attendants were breaking guarantee and we were still cancelling flight monthly, then I would say we had a huge staffing shortage. What we have is 250-300 flight attendants that wanted the holiday off.....pure and simple.

 

[deano]

MarkMyWords___You threw a S-H-I-T fit over the same thing last year and here you are again beating the drum like it will make a difference. When are you going to learn that a bunch of goodie-to shoe self-righteous zealots posting condescending remarks about taking sick time will not change the damage done that was created by men of no honor.

Get real MMW!

Bye Bye___Curt ex "cavalier"

 

[RumorS]

WHO CARES ... HAPPY NEW YEAR ... GO OUT AND HAVE A GOOD TIME ..... BE SAFE AND HAVE FUN .... LETS FORGET ABOUT THIS AIRLINE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MarkMyWords]

Curt, Cav, Deano - what ever you want to call yourself.......

AFA is going to say it is a staffing issue, how can that be? You have a vast amjority of reserves that don't break guarantee each month, but we are short staffed? We average 80 sick calls a day and there is a spike to 280-300 around a holiday and I am supposed to believe it is a staffing issue?

I feel I am entitled to my S$#% fit as you are entitled to put me on ignore if you don't like what I have to say.

 

[michael707767]

the only comparison that would matter is to compare the sick leave rate of Dec 23-26 vs any other four day period over a weekend during the rest of the year. That would be interesting.

 

[deano]

I am CURT with "C"

I'll stick to my post...GET REAL

YES Mark, you are allowed to throw a fit, whatever it takes

 

[MarkMyWords]

Curt -

The only thing that I would change from my posts on this same subject last year is to add that "Management" screwed up by not making examples out of the people that called off last year. By allowing this type of spike in sick calls to go unpunished did nothing to deter the same thing from happening this year.

 

[deano]

You're ignoring the fact that employees are being and have been abused, lied to, subject to severe punitive policies designed to make the Gestapo proud. You are not being reasonable and why I still say___GET REAL







MOD NOTE: Please Do Not Quote Entire Posts

 

[MarkMyWords]

It is being unreasonable to expect employees to come to work when they are supposed to? It is unreasonable to expect employees to not call in sick unless they are REALLY sick?

YOU GET REAL......

We are talking about a company that is well past being on life support and you are saying we should have all stayed home on Christmas day because we are unahppy about our working conditions / environment?

 

[deano]

Yes I am...screw them, screw them hard!

 

[deano]

Yes I am...screw them, screw them hard!

[post="234386"][/post]​

Save your migraine Mark, it‘s New Years Eve and...I am retired and no longer count....

 

[MarkMyWords]

I am so glad that you don't work here anymore.....and I would be even happier if you would take your 80 PHL Ramp buddies and the 200+ Flight Attendants with you.