Junior Manning

FloridaLarry

Well-Known Member
Can some wise person provide a definition and practical example of Junior Manning?

I know it's horrible, a demonic device designed by management and ops personnel with scales instead of skin. I just want to know what it is. PM or post.

Thanks!
 
PeytonManning.jpeg
 
It's a practice started in the prison system. It starts with your bread at dinner time and then finishes with them taking all your fruit salad. You can't fight it, just give it up like the new guy should.
 
When the major carriers abuse it is when they have a lot of furloughed pilots, they keep using the junior manning system while purposely being/staying understaffed, the pilots keep taking the flights and the poor SOBs on furlough stay there because the company is simply using another method to avoid bringing them back. Not going to mention any names like cough, cough, UAL.

So volunteering (it's not a requirement) for the extra work when you still have your fellow crew members on the street is kinda crap, IMO and feeds a corrupt, greedy management.
 
Basically it is mandatory overtime.

You are "assigned" as the most "junior" pilot to answer their phone.

Usually comes with some sort of monetary compensation over your normal hourly wage (usually 150%). Some also include a compensatory day off as well.
 
And when you refuse to work on YOUR DAY OFF, they will harass you and threaten you with discipline until you either do it or argue with a flight manager who will end up giving you an "unavailable" (on your day off) in a twisted attempt to strong arm others into excepting there rear ending when it was their fault the staffing was crap in the first place.
 
Simple answer... don't answer your phone... and if you do.. tell them you're 2 days away from being able to make it in because you're in XYZ city... Then they'll tell you either "ok, see you on this date" or "yeah, nevermind" and move on...
 
Generally it happens when a company runs out of available reserves on a given day and another flight becomes uncovered. The schedulers will develop a draft list which is all pilots who are qualified in the seat and legal for the trip based on what they have flown in the past and (sometimes, but not always) what they are scheduled to fly in the future. They will then call this list in seniority order, from the bottom to the top and when they get a sucker who actually answers their phone when they see a company phone number pop up, the scheduler will assign the pilot the trip unless they have a good enough reason to avoid it (see: far away from domicile, unable to get childcare, just opened a beer etc). As was said, there is often monetary compensation involved (at my previous employer it was 150% with a minimum of 4 hours so you were guaranteed 6 hours of pay each day).
 
Simple answer... don't answer your phone... and if you do.. tell them you're 2 days away from being able to make it in because you're in XYZ city... Then they'll tell you either "ok, see you on this date" or "yeah, nevermind" and move on...

Just don't answer the phone. That way, you can honestly say you didn't lie to the company.
 
Just don't answer the phone. That way, you can honestly say you didn't lie to the company.

I never said lie... I just said tell them you're 2 days away... What if I was in Vegas on a few days off, and had to fly home first, then a 2 legger to base? I'm just saying it happens... that's all...
 
Was it someone on here that posted about exiting the plane through the baggage door to avoid a JM at the gate?
 
Not answering works great until it shows up on your release. Always on the victory leg of the last day.

And said release is not valid until both the captain and the dispatcher agree on such said release. :D


And I'll never agree to a JM that way.
 
Thanks, all.

Hard to think of Peyton Manning, now age 37, as a 'junior.' Though, since the average age at death of an NFL player is 57, maybe....
 
I'm ignorant with respect to airline work rules. Do you have to take a JM if you don't have a legitimate excuse?
 
And said release is not valid until both the captain and the dispatcher agree on such said release. :D


And I'll never agree to a JM that way.

I'm not required to acknowledge non-essential communications (e.g. an AFIS message saying 'FO BLUE CALL CREW SUPPORT') below 10,000'...
 
Best defense against a junior man is knowing your union contract and policies. Then don't answer your phone. If you don't have to legally answer their call don't. It will avoid 90% of you problems. Don't set your buddies up either and relay messages to them. You never know where xyz is and you can't get ahold of xyz if you are told to call.
 
Where I work it's called Junior Available. If you don't want to do it then say "I'm not available" when you answer the phone.

That said, you can be "rescheduled" to additional duty while on duty with no say in the matter (other than sick or fatigue). You can also be contacted outside crew rest while on a layover in the hotel (don't answer the phone in the hotel). Skeds can even reach out to you via the crew scheduling website with an advisement. You get on the company website and a box pops up asking you to accept or defer an advisement. You have to get past that pop up to go further into the site. Not sure what happens when you defer. Supposedly, the union says the internet doesn't count as a legal way to contact crews.

I even had hotel security break into my room in OAK once to advise me to contact crew scheduling. No joke. They have the right to do a security check if you don't answer your phone. Like you might be dead or something. Last thing the guy said upon leaving (after verifying my security) was "you have a message to contact your company".
 
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