Holy s$% I've been here before!

F

Firebird2XC

Well-Known Member
So today was my first day as a DFW based ERJ-145 pilot with my new employer.

Oddly enough, the day trip I was assigned on Reserve had me.. get this.. riding a van from DFW to DAL to fly four legs.

Then a van ride back.

Sure enough, there's a call waiting for me on my cell phone voicemail at the end of the day. I call to confirm tomorrow's assignment and ask.. 'hey, where's my ride back to DFW'?

Sure enough- overlooked! Somehow I was not surprised.

I'm THEN told.. that the van needed 25-30 minutes to get there..once they got rolling... and I should be picked up in a little under an hour.

So there I am, all brand-shiny new and I'm left literally standing out in the cold.

What's a pilot still dripping with SJS-induced sweat to do?

He invokes his CONTRACT.

"Uh, yeah.. that's more than 15 minutes for ground transportation. I'm invoking the clause that requires 15 minutes or less, or the company pays for a cab. You can cancel the van."

A scant five minutes or less later, I'm in a cab rolling towards DFW. A cab that, incidentally, went straight to my car in employee parking, and not the van drop off curbside by the terminal.

The moral of this story?

IF YOU DON'T HAVE AND KNOW AND USE A UNION CONTRACT YOU HAVE NO OPTION BUT LETTING THE COMPANY SCREW YOU.

Just wanted to share that.

Thanks for reading.

- Firebird2XC
"Rabid Unionista"
 
Good for you, and good advice to all. The contract is there to help both you and the company, but if you don't read it the company is the one that wins.
 
Or how about when the company calls you an hour and a half before your phone avability time, then tells you to fly now and grieve later, then cancels your turn after waking you up after 4 hours of sleep (which was an illegal assignment), then won't release you to go home on day 6 when there's NO POSSIBLE WAY you could do a turn ANYWHERE and still make it back to be FAA legal, to say nothing of the contract.

Ever have one of those days when you just shouldn't have gotten up? I'm having one of those.
 
jtrain609 said:
Or how about when the company calls you an hour and a half before your phone avability time, then tells you to fly now and grieve later, then cancels your turn after waking you up after 4 hours of sleep (which was an illegal assignment), then won't release you to go home on day 6 when there's NO POSSIBLE WAY you could do a turn ANYWHERE and still make it back to be FAA legal, to say nothing of the contract.

Ever have one of those days when you just shouldn't have gotten up? I'm having one of those.
Click to expand...

Time to file a grievance!

Southernjets took one of your reps so I'm not sure who to contact.
 
Already sent the e-mail! The worst part is now we're in Severe Weather Action Plan (SWAP) so they won't release me to go home. All this after royally screwing up my day from the get go. Scheduling told me I'm automatically released at 6:00 p.m., and didn't really care when I told them my last flight home is 5:00 p.m.

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel! Since I started duty at 3:00 a.m. this morning, technically because of somebody's screw up, I have to be done with duty and back to base at 6:00 p.m., which means they have to call me at 4:00 p.m. to even start a trip by 6:00 p.m. But I have to be DONE by 6:00 p.m. because I'm on day six of reserve right now, so they really have to call me by like noon to show up at 2:00 p.m. for a 3:00 p.m. departure, and that'd be assuming a one hour flight, quick turn and come right back.

With the ground delay program going on, it'll never happen. I'm taking the widget home at 5:00 p.m.
 
My FO got royally screwed last night. He had traded away the end of his pairing before it started, last week. He was supposed to be done with me last night at 630. Crew Scheduling called me and told me we were being "extended" to do a GRR turn. Turns out he was also doing another overnight in ESC, which was in his original pairing. Crew Scheduling told him they knew nothing of him trading away his trip. I don't know how he originally verified but he had to do the rest of the trip apparently...

On this subject, anyone familiar with the acronym MRA in reference to crew track? What does it stand for?
 
See folks?

This is what I'm talking about.

I've skimmed through my contract a few times. This time I'm going to sit down and memorize the damned thing.

The crew assignment flow charts are kinda screwy, but I'll get it.

In the interim, I'm on day 2 of a 4 day. When I get back to DFW, I'm going down to the union office to find a volunteer position.
 
Know the contract, fly the contract. Its as easy as that.

When I first got hired, I carried a paper version everywhere I went. Now, its electronic, but its still in my bag for quick reference.
 
Firebird2XC said:
So today was my first day as a DFW based ERJ-145 pilot with my new employer.

Oddly enough, the day trip I was assigned on Reserve had me.. get this.. riding a van from DFW to DAL to fly four legs.

Then a van ride back.

Sure enough, there's a call waiting for me on my cell phone voicemail at the end of the day. I call to confirm tomorrow's assignment and ask.. 'hey, where's my ride back to DFW'?

Sure enough- overlooked! Somehow I was not surprised.

I'm THEN told.. that the van needed 25-30 minutes to get there..once they got rolling... and I should be picked up in a little under an hour.

So there I am, all brand-shiny new and I'm left literally standing out in the cold.

What's a pilot still dripping with SJS-induced sweat to do?

He invokes his CONTRACT.

"Uh, yeah.. that's more than 15 minutes for ground transportation. I'm invoking the clause that requires 15 minutes or less, or the company pays for a cab. You can cancel the van."

A scant five minutes or less later, I'm in a cab rolling towards DFW. A cab that, incidentally, went straight to my car in employee parking, and not the van drop off curbside by the terminal.

The moral of this story?

IF YOU DON'T HAVE AND KNOW AND USE A UNION CONTRACT YOU HAVE NO OPTION BUT LETTING THE COMPANY SCREW YOU.

Just wanted to share that.

Thanks for reading.

- Firebird2XC
"Rabid Unionista"
Click to expand...

ERJ-DAL Hhhmmmm... Being the avid spotter that I am Ithink I know which airline this is. However next trip call me if your stranded Ill pick you up for a tour of the jet! LOL
 
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