Concessions and Furloughs

[CPZ9900]

You guys don't have a minimum monthly guarantee in a contract?

It's irrelevant if you're voluntarily giving up hours as there is a clause that the company can offer voluntary programs. The company cannot arbitrarily cut hours.

 

[Flagship_dxer]

This can be done entirely outside of the contract and without an LOA. If the company is offering employees to voluntarily cut back on hours (to mitigate furloughs), that doesn't jeopardize anything in the contract. I don't think you'll find any union willing to enter into any type of agreement that alters the contract.

Even if the contract you work under allows for an employee to voluntarily give up hours and money, the issue will quickly become how many take it. At some point if enough dont take it, it will either need to be agreed to via a negotiated deal with the union and applied to the whole group or furloughs will happen. Plus the cost savings management wants/needs may be a longer term thing instead of a few months.

 

[CPZ9900]

Even if the contract you work under allows for an employee to voluntarily give up hours and money, the issue will quickly become how many take it. At some point if enough dont take it, it will either need to be agreed to via a negotiated deal with the union and applied to the whole group or furloughs will happen. Plus the cost savings management wants/needs may be a longer term thing instead of a few months.

Comes down to communication. The choice is either get furloughed and make next to nothing (which ends after 6 months) or reduce hours by 50% and retain all benefits. The choice is pretty clear honestly. A year at 50% hours is better than six months of unemployment (about 20% of wages) with no benefits. If someone would rather seek other employment in the interim, there's an option for that too.

It's a challenge to get people to see the big picture, I agree.

 

[Flagship_dxer]

Comes down to communication. The choice is either get furloughed and make next to nothing (which ends after 6 months) or reduce hours by 50% and retain all benefits. The choice is pretty clear honestly. A year at 50% hours is better than six months of unemployment (about 20% of wages) with no benefits. If someone would rather seek other employment in the interim, there's an option for that too.

It's a challenge to get people to see the big picture, I agree.

The problem with that is management at an airline is going to be targeting a certain cost reduction. In a union environment, management can't simply negotiate pay cuts with each individual dispatcher and furlough out of seniority order. Thus if a dispatcher refuses a pay cut, they can't furlough just that dispatcher and keep the ones who accept pay cuts.

Another issue is total cost reduction that management seeks. As an example if management wants to cut 20% of a workforce in order to offset those reductions would mean far more than the 20% about to be cut would need to take a pay cut. In a union environment, this means negotiating with the union and depending on the union it might also mean membership approval.

Most union contracts make it clear that management must negotiate these things through the union.

 

[TN-DX]

My major certainly does have junior manning. It's not common but I've been junior manned a number of times over the years. It's not happening any right now, of course, due to the reduced flying schedule and commensurate reduction in the number of dispatch desks open each day.

I think that was more of a "not every major does". One specific major does not have junior manning. I can also confirm this.

 

[MT]

unless contractual language exists to reverse the concessions either at a set date or profit metric.

This is the lynchpin and absolutely must exist in any LoA.

 

[Kev]

Know for a fact a Major doesn’t have Junior Manning. So it can be done, depends, what’s it worth it to you?

Who is this Junior Manning? And does he also play quarterback?

 

[jynxyjoe]

Who is this Junior Manning? And does he also play quarterback?

He does but he throws ducks.