DE727UPS
Well-Known Member
Here's what happened at UPS. Under the old contract, the Capt had complete control of the jumpseat. Things got ugly during negotiations, and Capts started bumping "must rides" while allowing others to ride. Now, understand that must rides at UPS were very important under the old contract. This is how many crewmembers were positioned out of base for operating flights. Thus, when said must rides started getting bumped, it caused some heartburn at the company. Imagine if Velo used his Capts authority to see to it that no must rides ever rode in the back of one his planes....ever again. Think AS management might get a little upset? Think Velo would have a leg to stand on?
Well, actually, the UPS Capts thought they had a leg to stand on as the jumpseat is supposed to belong to the Capt, right? And who do you complain to if the company takes action against Capts authority? The FAA? Ummmm.....we found out they don't really care. They saw it as a labor/management issue and weren't interested in taking sides (which kinda sucked for us).
End result. New contract called for all lines which had deadheads to be built with commercial flights, not company deadheads (kinda like how Fedex has always done it, duh....). That got our pilots out of the jumpseat as a "must ride". Reserves can still be positioned as "must rides" at will by the company, though, which kinda takes away the ability of the Capt to bump you off. It's in the contract. Ultimately, I suppose the Capt could bump a must ride, but I think there would be hell to pay. You'd have to come up with a "safety of flight" reason to do it. I've heard some guys have. I've heard some of them have "got in trouble". Only thing I know for sure is the Feds could care less one way or another.
So, if a Capt at UPS bumps a must ride, it's like Velo bumping a must ride out of the back of his MD80. You could do it, but you better have a darn good reason.
Now, what PCL is talking about does happen. We have a a matrix which tells us how many "must rides" can ride on certain airplanes for certain lengths of time. For example, the 747 (with bunks and first class seats) can take quite a few, while the 757, with it's bench from hell, is limited. The problem is, the "limits" only apply to "must rides". So, lets say the company puts two must rides on a 757. That's dandy. But what happens when there are two off line guys wanting to ride at the same time. The Capt has to make the call as to whether to bump the off line guys to make life a little better for the must rides, or to get everyone where they want to go. The jumpseat matrix only applies to must rides but when you fill the seats up with off line guys, it kinda defeats the purpose of the matrix in the first place. That's a tough one. I'm glad I haven't been faced with it. But I'd have a hard time bumping an off line guy to make for a more comfortable ride for a must ride. I think most must rides would agree...
Well, actually, the UPS Capts thought they had a leg to stand on as the jumpseat is supposed to belong to the Capt, right? And who do you complain to if the company takes action against Capts authority? The FAA? Ummmm.....we found out they don't really care. They saw it as a labor/management issue and weren't interested in taking sides (which kinda sucked for us).
End result. New contract called for all lines which had deadheads to be built with commercial flights, not company deadheads (kinda like how Fedex has always done it, duh....). That got our pilots out of the jumpseat as a "must ride". Reserves can still be positioned as "must rides" at will by the company, though, which kinda takes away the ability of the Capt to bump you off. It's in the contract. Ultimately, I suppose the Capt could bump a must ride, but I think there would be hell to pay. You'd have to come up with a "safety of flight" reason to do it. I've heard some guys have. I've heard some of them have "got in trouble". Only thing I know for sure is the Feds could care less one way or another.
So, if a Capt at UPS bumps a must ride, it's like Velo bumping a must ride out of the back of his MD80. You could do it, but you better have a darn good reason.
Now, what PCL is talking about does happen. We have a a matrix which tells us how many "must rides" can ride on certain airplanes for certain lengths of time. For example, the 747 (with bunks and first class seats) can take quite a few, while the 757, with it's bench from hell, is limited. The problem is, the "limits" only apply to "must rides". So, lets say the company puts two must rides on a 757. That's dandy. But what happens when there are two off line guys wanting to ride at the same time. The Capt has to make the call as to whether to bump the off line guys to make life a little better for the must rides, or to get everyone where they want to go. The jumpseat matrix only applies to must rides but when you fill the seats up with off line guys, it kinda defeats the purpose of the matrix in the first place. That's a tough one. I'm glad I haven't been faced with it. But I'd have a hard time bumping an off line guy to make for a more comfortable ride for a must ride. I think most must rides would agree...
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