Why is this "company" forcing recallees to work ANOTHER six months before flight attendants can retire with passes? After bleeding (literally) for UAL over the past twenty years, this is the biggest insult. Is anyone else in this position?
Retiring With No Passes... What A Joke
- Thread starter MadMindy
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casual rat
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I thought you got passes after 25 years....Give us the 'details' Mindy...
Actually, it's not a retirement, it's an option for resignation. F/As with 20 years of service who give 6 months notice prior to resigning are eligible for 8 passes a year.
There has recently been a big increase in requests to waive the notice period - mostly from flight attendants who do not want to return from voluntary furlough. But the 6-month notice is there in order to allow the company to replace the F/A. It can take up to 6 months to recruit, hire and train - the first new-hire F/A will not be on the line until sometime in March, and recruiting starts in November.
Retirement is different. For this "special" resignation benefit the notice period is there to encourage F/As not to resign without notice, (especially right before a busy travel period). Nobody likes to work over the Christmas holidays, but probably the reason the company is recalling everyone now is that they need the extra F/As for the holidays. Many of the F/As in this round of recalls, the most senior, have not worked since 2002. Many don't really want to come back.... but they also want the passes, so they're feeling forced to come back and fly for 6 months.
There has recently been a big increase in requests to waive the notice period - mostly from flight attendants who do not want to return from voluntary furlough. But the 6-month notice is there in order to allow the company to replace the F/A. It can take up to 6 months to recruit, hire and train - the first new-hire F/A will not be on the line until sometime in March, and recruiting starts in November.
Retirement is different. For this "special" resignation benefit the notice period is there to encourage F/As not to resign without notice, (especially right before a busy travel period). Nobody likes to work over the Christmas holidays, but probably the reason the company is recalling everyone now is that they need the extra F/As for the holidays. Many of the F/As in this round of recalls, the most senior, have not worked since 2002. Many don't really want to come back.... but they also want the passes, so they're feeling forced to come back and fly for 6 months.
Seajay appears to be in management, as you are very well versed in the contract. What I have discovered is that other voluntary furlough groups have received these passes, some from a waiver by Denver management. As soon as this was leaked out, UAL put the brakes to anyone else receiving these passes, even though many of us have upward of 25 years of seniority. How is it that we could give a six month notice to the company when our furloughs were not over until 2007? I find it interesting that UAL will not take a resignation until we fly one trip. All for them nothing for us, sounds extremely typical of their management style. All of the furloughees took these leaves to help out UAL and those flight attendants who would have been out on the street. If I would have known that, I would have resigned and taken my passes four years ago instead of being lead on. My mistake of trusting the company.
Mindy, you haven't worked in years, what's the difference? Work 6 months for the passes or quit. I took the leave for 2 years and think you are fooling no one if you think we believe that you could barely feed your family but you took this leave to "help out". You took it cuz it was a great deal. Passes, no lost seniority and medical. Sorry it didn't work out for you. The flying is great, international only at your seniority. Don't sweat it, come back and get those passes.
The Gopher
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Fly said:
Sounds to me like the company DID take care of you on voluntary furlough. I was involuntarily furloughed back in 01-02 (from a grade D WHQ job) and I got passes (which I couldn't use due to new part-time job) but no medical. Sure, it was a contract issue, but that could have easily been broken in Ch. 11.
Mindy,
6 months notice to UAL gives you plenty of time to use up that sick bank! 🙄
Now, if that's not a good reason to let these people retire/resign from furlough-well-it's just another example of Uniteds "smart" management policies. 😉
6 months notice to UAL gives you plenty of time to use up that sick bank! 🙄
Now, if that's not a good reason to let these people retire/resign from furlough-well-it's just another example of Uniteds "smart" management policies. 😉
I resigned.
This company isn't worth quitting an 80K a year job for 8 passes/yr. After thwenty eight years, I felt that I deserved those passes. I would have to fly for years to make up the cost difference. Good luck to all of you.
Mindy
This company isn't worth quitting an 80K a year job for 8 passes/yr. After thwenty eight years, I felt that I deserved those passes. I would have to fly for years to make up the cost difference. Good luck to all of you.
Mindy
synchronicity
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Duh, really?! As I've told my wife when we've discussed gettng a new job vs. staying with United: "XX thousand per year buys an awful lot of plane tickets". Most of the PCE jobs top out under 45K/yr unless one works gobs of overtime.
But thanks for your blinding statement of the obvious.
-synchronicity
OutInLeftField
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Mindy, if you secured an $80k/year job after taking the voluntary F/A furlough, than I'd say that you surely improved your financial position. While you gave many years of service to this company and I can see where there is the appearance of the pass issue being a slap in the face, you can't really be bitter. The voluntary furlough was a great deal for folks like you. It obviously enabled you to find something better. But let's not forget that United is trying to run a business. More importantly, it's trying to restructure its business into one that can make money. Doing so often means making unpopular decisions that affect some or all employees. You got a great deal with the voluntary furlough. Based on that, I don't see how you could be bitter if the company requires you to come back online and work for 6 months before you can leave with pass benefits. Isn't that having your cake and eating it, too?
