THE RESERVE SYSTEM

[FlyGuyBWI]

The first thing to do in CLT is to get officers that will hear the RES concerns and help us make changes instead of just assuming that we are always complaining about something that is already written in the contract and cannot be changed! Well whenever it is in the Company's favor they always manage to get a side letter sent out and changes made. (Remember the SCK on contact and calling off SCK 2 hrs. prior to check-in). I am telling you, until we have a RES at the top nothing will be done for us!!!! Remember what I wrote earlier - Walk in my shoes speaks VOLUMES!!

Aren't CLT elections in June 2007? If you want reserve issues addressed, elect reserve LEC Officers. Wasn't that done in BWI back in 1998? -- blockholders voted out of office and a whole slate of reserves voted in as LEC Officers?

 

[Mrs. Doubtflier]

It always surprises me how often the subject of a Rotating RSV system comes up.

A number of people were upset at the thought of that with the UA merger.

Rotating Reserve makes logical sense, it levels the playing field. All F/A's experience the pleasure of having the flexibility to plan their lives outside of work to a certain extent and all F/A's experience the discomfort of having to BE flexible for scheduling periodically.

From an airline economics point of view I can't see how much longer they are going to pay the highest wage to people who can elect to work the least amount of hours forcing costs into software systems(ETB) and scheduling hours and costs associated with hiring and training reserves and then the resulting high turnover due to the obstacles that prohibit them from [/i]increasing their productivity.

I do agree that you should offer your long term, loyal employees increased flexibility or high pay...but not both to the degree that is occurring.

This whole system needs to be turned upside down.

 

[N965VJ]

I just don’t know how you would implement a Rotating RSV system at US.

The commuters would howl.

 

[PHL BULL]

As a reserve I would also like to know my schedule a little more in advance.

be careful what you wish for...I know I will get bashed for this statement but I like the system...I learned how to work with it...when they went to the 24/7 change I thought it would kill the ETB it would make my life as a BH bad...so hey I took one for the teem and bid RSV I hope someone jr to me has fun flyin my line...hmmm let's see I can drop to 50+ get paid 50+00 or bid once fly 40 ish and get paid 73+00 damm I just gave myself a rase of about 1000.00 per month or 12K a year...O.K. start bashin me and enjoy flyin my block...need to go get some AA's for my pager

 

[Zarah]

be careful what you wish for...I know I will get bashed for this statement but I like the system...I learned how to work with it...when they went to the 24/7 change I thought it would kill the ETB it would make my life as a BH bad...so hey I took one for the teem and bid RSV I hope someone jr to me has fun flyin my line...hmmm let's see I can drop to 50+ get paid 50+00 or bid once fly 40 ish and get paid 73+00 damm I just gave myself a rase of about 1000.00 per month or 12K a year...O.K. start bashin me and enjoy flyin my block...need to go get some AA's for my pager

I suppose you are trying to say that one person has a line because you bid reserve. That still doesn't change my status as a reserve and wish I knew my next months schedule in advance.

 

[jimntx]

What do you guys think about rotating reserve with an immunity seniority of 15 years? AA has it and it works well.

Be aware, however, that there is no immunity cap at AA. How long you serve reserve is based on the overall seniority at your base. At SLT, most months the most senior reserve has 11-12 years, and a couple of months ago it dropped to 8 years because there were so many junior people on that month; backup reserve (lineholder, but can be moved to reserve if operations require it) goes to maybe 14 years. At DFW, reserve regularly goes to 17-18 years and some months may go over 20 years.

But, it is for a maximum of 3 times per year after your first 3 years on the payroll. (The first 3 years, you are one-on, one-off reserve). In fact, you have the same reserve months each year unless you are among the most senior f/as who may or may not be on reserve in a given month. For instance, I am on reserve next month. I will be on reserve again in March, then July, then November. I can bid on to or off of reserve (at my seniority on to has better chance of happening than off of ). If I bid on to reserve, then someone junior to me is bumped off reserve and becomes a lineholder that month. That's why they tell us to bid regular lines as well as reserve lines on our reserve months.

The Catch-22 is that this not only changes my reserve rotation, it also changes the reserve rotation of the person who was bumped off reserve. As this person is one of the most junior in the base, they will be on the following month's reserve list; so, instead of November-March-July, they will now be December-April-August. There are protections built into the system; so that the most junior people not only will serve a maximum 3 months per year, but they can not be made to serve two consecutive months unless they bid on to reserve in that second month.

If I am on reserve, there is NO passing. I fly what crew scheduling tells me to fly. Due to Operational Necessity, I can be flown up until noon on the first day of a block of days off. However, scheduling does not like to do this unless they have no other choice. If they fly me until noon of a day off, they have to "roll" my days off; so, if I was supposed to have Tues-Wed-Thurs off and I fly up until noon on Tuesday, then my days off don't end until noon on Friday.

Reserve assignments are done on the basis of legality first--if I have only one day available to the company, or I have already flown/been on call 4 days straight, they do not assign me a 3-day trip. Then, the person with the least amount of time gets the longest trip. There's no problem with 7-day legalities unless there is an off-schedule problem with the weather, etc. because the reserve lines are designed with no more than 6 days on at a time. The scheduler might have more than one trip you are eligible for and he/she might give you a choice from among those trips, but they are not required to do this.

As far as the problems that rotating reserve might cause for the commuters...tough noogies. Commuting from another city is a privilege, not a right. If you worked in an office and chose to live in another town 90 miles away, your company would still expect you to get your fanny to work on time each day. And, if that means you have to spend 2 hours commuting instead of 30 minutes, that is not the company's problem. Your longer commute is the result of your choice to live 90 miles from your workplace.

And, the argument that your base has been changed against your will doesn't fly either. In the 16 years I worked at Texaco, they assigned me to 4 or 5 different offices in different parts of Houston. I chose to stay in the same house so I had to adjust my commute. And, I had friends who had to pick up and move to another city because the company closed the office they were working in. It happens. If you like the job well enough to stay with the company, then YOU are the one who has to adjust.

All that being said, don't think for one minute that there is no whining and complaining about reserve by AA flight attendants--me included some days. But, at the same time I try to remember that at my age and seniority, reserve will always be part of my job at AA. I can either be miserable about that or deal with the job as it is. Beside that, on reserve months (particularly when I was based at DFW) I get trips that I won't LIVE long enough to hold on a bid basis.