November Reserve Lines 2008
Last month, on behalf of the Reserves in all bases, I made a
holiday-oriented request to the company, specifically to the person who
physically constructs the Reserve lines and also to the Director of Crew
Scheduling Mike Finn. I asked them to increase the number of Reserve
lines with Thanksgiving OFF/INV, emphasizing that lines with
Thanksgiving OFF/INV were not available during last years holiday
season. Lately, Reserve lines in all bases have not seen holidays as INV
days. I was told that the lines must be built in accordance with company
requests to protect the operation of the airline, therefore they would
be unable to honor the request.
While, I was in PIT visiting Scheduling, I sat down and spoke with John
Petronzi about my request. While Mr. Petronzi sympathizes with the
Reserves and understands the request, he cannot make the changes.
Mr. Petronzi stressed:
- Significant open time during
Thanksgiving week
- The number of sick calls cannot be
predicted
- The number of those unable to
commute cannot be predicted
To summarize: According to the company,
the operation must be protected
and the answer is NO.
What we're being told is not one base will have a single Reserve line
with Thanksgiving INV.
As one can see, the company is once again refusing to work with a
request from the AFA. The Reserve group has carried this operation
through many holidays. It is enough of a hardship to leave our families
and friends on holidays, yes I know that line holders do also, but a
Reserve deals with the additional stress of the unknown: Not knowing
when a call might come, where a destination might be, whether
reassignment is imminent, or even if the assignment legal. An offer of a
small number of INV days or an increased number of OFF days would have
been an appropriate gesture from the company - especially in
consideration of the fact that many continue to be career Reserves
without any sign of an end. Given that the LTO system this year has been
in no way "profitable" for the Reserves, some sort of non-monitory
incentive would be most appropriate.
While I understand that this is frustrating news, it is none the less
something that we will continue to address If you have any questions
please contact your local LEC office.
Respectfully,
Sherri Baker
MEC Reserve Chair
SBaker@afausairways.org |
