Thanksgiving & Christmas comming
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Travelpro72
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I just love how the company is putting out threatening memos about calling off for the holiday and operational integrity. How about all the damn open time Huh? Pages of it. Everyone got to sap sap away and all the open time could have been blocks. People would have been happy to have their block back. But noooooooo make the HUNDREDS deal with this ridiculous system. Sure makes everyone wanna make themselves available for your uncovered trips on christmas eve and christmas. It is unrealistic for all reserves to have the holiday off but to make more reserves to sit and cover they way it usually happens is wrong. Just wait and see. I myself though miss family don't have children and don't mind working but to have the chance to have a block would be nice. There is NO REASON FOR ALL THESE RESERVES when there is all that OPEN TIME. 🙄
All of that open time is another hold-over from USAir. PI and PSA could vary the number of primary blocks constructed depending on the time available month to month. They would build blocks with the time they had then they would build "relief lines" with what was left over for bid (like secondary blocks today), you may or may not be on reserve. USAir has a set number of primary blocks every month depending on the permanent base bid. After the blocks are constructed you either have lots of open time or short blocks, but you have X number of primary blocks either way. Then they construct secondary blocks with leftover trips going to open time.
This is why you can bid for a blockholder position or a reserve position.
That said, they'd better not be counting on the pilots to "help out" over the holidays. POTA will not work anymore. Family first...
PHL BULL
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there are 343 SEC lines to bid...im biding RSV hope that helps you get a line...you must be really jr.
longing4piedmont
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Hummmmm. I was handed a flyer yesterday by a couple of employees in PIT, that said US had cancelled Thanksgiving and Christmas.
My only comment was "give em hell" ladies.
My only comment was "give em hell" ladies.
flygirl74
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Correction. I you are on reserve there is no seniority. Sure, at the beginning of the month you do, or within your "bucket", but no true seniority.
The company thinks Xmas and Turkey Day are leap year holidays. Someone call Dougie and let him know!!!!
The company thinks Xmas and Turkey Day are leap year holidays. Someone call Dougie and let him know!!!!
Dog Wonder
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You can bet Boss' Day will still be on the schedule.
sky high states: There is a larger number of secondary lines in Dec, then normal in several bases.
only stating opinions.
Prince of PAWOBs
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Hummmmm. I was handed a flyer yesterday by a couple of employees in PIT, that said US had cancelled Thanksgiving and Christmas.
My only comment was "give em hell" ladies.
That's almost correct. The informational flyer actually asks the question: "Is US Airways Cancelling Thanksgiving and Christmas?"
The flyer was handed out in PIT Thursday and Friday by members of IBT Local 926, which represents approximately 450 PSA ramp, gate and ops agents at the station.
The IBT and PSA are to return to the negotiating table November 11-12. Last time, representatives from PSA told the mediator and the IBT that they would have to check with someone "higher up" on the union's offer to PSA, as they were not authorized to make any decisions at that time. This was, IMO, outrageous, as the whole purpose of going to mediation was to come to agreement on a contract. Needless to say, the IBT and the mediator were not pleased with PSA's inability to negotiate.
October's negotiating session, after being agreed to by the parties and the NMB, was cancelled by the mediator at the last minute due to unavailabilty. The IBT offered to continue negotiating with PSA without the mediator, but was politely rebuffed.
If the NMB releases the parties from further negotiations if a new contract cannot be agreed to for presentation to the work group, then a strike vote is highly likely to be taken. Right now, a majority of PSA employees represented are leaning toward a yes vote, combining their frustration over PSA's posturing with the upcoming holiday season, incumbant with it's inevitable meltdowns at a certain Eastern Penssylvania airport and the annual procession of tractor-trailers filled with baggage that both Express and Mainline agents in PIT will be responsible for sorting and distributing to angry passengers systemwide.
So, there you go. The above was written from my point of view as an insider. Is it possible that PSA agents will strike? Yes! Will it occur during the holidays? Almost certainly! It all depends on how the negotiations go and whether or not the mediator releases the parties.
The PSA employees would rather have a contract vote instead of a strike vote. No one wants inconvenienced passengers and an unpaid vacation while holding signs in cold weather, but the employees are ready to do what they must to make their point.
Thanks for reading!
Travelpro72
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I am a 9 year reserve in PHL if that makes me "jr". Also as someone else stated there is NO seniority with this reserve system. While this should be a blockholder world there is WAAAAAAAAAY TO MUCH FLEXIBILITY. Get your block and fly it. If you want to drop something fine. If it dont get dropped then happy flying. This is total BS and this whole system is held down because the priorities in the union DO IN FACT GO TOWARDS THE BLOCKHOLDER. Look at how quick changes were made for the blockholder when the 24/7 rule kicked in for reserves. What of any REAL importance has changed for the reserve? I'd say a big fat NOTHING. Company/union....blah blah...one blames the other and basically neither is any better.
Trav,
Support your union. Its a BH world dude, get used to it. Hopefully, you (we!) will be there someday, and we will enjoy similar benefits. They are not able to change a lot of RSV issues overnight, because they are contractual. Yes, they dropped the ETB floor to 40 for the BH's, but that was mutually agreed upon. Big deal. Has not helped a lot.....
Let's do this: Let's make sure the MEC knows our plight, and our interests, and support them in this tough negotiation battle they face. Bitterness and "BH v RSV" aint getting us anywhere......Call your LEC and MF everyday, let them know that you are unhappy. Call them twice a day. Be a bug in their ear.
Were you at either of the AFA meetings in PHL? If you were, then you know what we are up against! If you weren't, LOOK OUT!
Travelpro72
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Support your union. Its a BH world dude, get used to it. Hopefully, you (we!) will be there someday, and we will enjoy similar benefits.
Are you serious? You must be a blockholder. While it should be a blockholder world it does not make what is happening right. It is a little hard to support my union or complain when the interest is protecting what a blockholder already has. Now again, I would like to enjoy the benefits of being a blockholder but do I need to wait this many years for it? NO the system is broken and nothing is being fixed and MANY that are blockholders without that threat of losing their block from month to month DO NOT CARE. Not all but a very, very large majority. I know what we are up against. The seniority issues here are why our system is the way it is.
Are you serious? You must be a blockholder. While it should be a blockholder world it does not make what is happening right. It is a little hard to support my union or complain when the interest is protecting what a blockholder already has. Now again, I would like to enjoy the benefits of being a blockholder but do I need to wait this many years for it? NO the system is broken and nothing is being fixed and MANY that are blockholders without that threat of losing their block from month to month DO NOT CARE. Not all but a very, very large majority. I know what we are up against. The seniority issues here are why our system is the way it is.
longing4piedmont
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Thanks for the information. I thought the flyer was well done and most pax I saw where taking it. I was on DL, but from a distance I thought one of them was Teddy X so I walked over to say hi.
My best wishes to all involved in this effort. Like I said, "give em hell". What they have done to the employees of this airline can not be justified.
songbirdstew
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This company is the only airline that runs the airline with the reserves. The reserves are supposed to be for irregular ops, sick calls, etc. Not so a B/H can drop to 40 hours and become a part-time employee.
I am a 20 year RSV in PIT.In September the bid sheet was restricted 4 yes, that's 4 days out of the whole month. TWOP was allowed every day but those 4 days of restriction. I had one B/H tell me that they don't care what they bid because they can always drop via ETB or TWOP or there will be no restriction. I have called this to the unions attention and was told the MEC RSV chair would get back to me. I have heard nothing.
I have tried the calling once/twice a day thing before and found that I just wasted my valuable time. The union has their priorities about what they want to handle first and RSV issues are not at the top.
Presently their major concern is the merging of two contracts...meanwhile the company sent out the letter saying that they will look at our past sick calls to see if an F/A has a history of calling in sick during the special "holiday period". Where in our contract does it say that the company has the right to do that and why isn't the union all over this ? Because they're too busy writing letters about the Coldstone Creamery coupons.
Fortuneately for PIT, our union president really does make the effort on behalf of the F/A's. I am hoping for you all in PHL that your next LECP and staff will be for the flight attendants and not themselves. Time will tell.
If that happens then I say call the union. If not, I say don't waste your time.
Nope, I am not a Blockholder. I just choose to get the facts, rather than listen to people whine and spout minsinformation everywhere.
The Union *IS* doing a lot to try and better the life of reserves. This enforcement of the 24/7/ETB restrictions by the FAA happened very quickly, and takes awhile to negotiate solutions and remedies. The Company is meeting with the Union as we speak to try and come up with short term solutions for the RSV issue, which essentially centers around more blocks. With 343 sec lines in Dec, I am hoping they are well on their way....Call your MECP and he will outline for you every single thing AFA is discussing with the company, and what their response is. Remember, he is there for you!
I was at the Union meeting at PHL. Both of them. Were you? I helped call for the resignation of the officers, because I believe that we need officers that atually SPEAK to each other and treat each other as human beings to protect and further our interests. Uniting and having a strong AFA during negotiations is a lot more powerful than having FA's running around crying about how it is such a BH world and the RSV's get cr@pped on.
