I don't get why people consider ditching the bidsheet to be concessionary. It is concessionary only to the block holder who bids a block they have no intention what-so-ever of flying. Getting rid of the bid sheet and creating more lines of flying is a huge benefit to those struggling on reserve, forced to fly on days off to make ends meet. It sounds like a huge gain to me. Bid a block, fly it, trade and drop like all the other airlines.
It's a benefit to the BH, which make up the majority of our membership. Put dollar amounts on aspects of our contract, and I bet that the most expensive item would be... the bid sheet. Don't kid yourself....
You are speaking out of pure emotion. USAir is stagnant, which is where all this emotion and grief begins.... Reserves are miserable, and want the bid sheet gone so BH's can't rearrange their schedule 30 times a month. I get that, and I agree that BH flexibility is over the top as compared to other airlines. That said, the bid sheet is most certainly a high cost item, and if we were to just "give it up" as opposed to negotiating a new system where everyone is able to prosper financially, we would be nothing short of foolish. Keep it or get rid of it, the bid sheet is an expensive bargaining tool, and it is good that we at least still have that in our contract, after all the concessions.
Don't be so quick to negotiate away FA benefits just because our reserve life is miserable. If it goes, we best make sure we get many work rule improvements, and are able to keep a high level of lineholder flexibility. To me, work rules are almost more important than our base pay, and once you negotiate work rules away, you never see them again. You may not believe it, but we too will be BH's someday, and I am not interested in not being able to enjoy a good amount of lineholder flexibility. I just don't want it to be at the expense of our future reserves, which is where a new, negotiated scheduling/ bidding system comes in. Let's see what the JNC comes up with.
