FoxHunter

Real easy to tell if it is based on seniority, just check the list. Earlier time stamp? Bots? Wife works in CRS? Girlfriend, boyfriend, neighbor, golf partner?

Ten+ years ago, not so senior, I bid a VTO line. June, needed the last ten days of the month off, front end dhd, China trip. There was a trip open early in the month, dhd ORD, 3 days in PEK. At that time we could look your vto prior to it being final. Looked at my vto and it had a four day trip right in the middle of the ten days off I needed. Then I went and looked at that perfect trip. Funny, it was a manager that had just returned to the line, and he was junior to me. Wonder how that happened? I called the guy that built my line and asked why he had given me a trip in the middle of my requested days off. He said that things were really tough and he had to do it. I then asked how a guy junior to me happened to get the trip that met every request I had made. He then said, You want that trip? Ans. YES. I was given that trip. Why was the former manager assigned the trip in the first place? Could it have been an earlier, or better located time stamp?

onetime

Senority based open time combined with a monthly open time cap. Old fellas trade all you want until you reach the cap, then you are locked out for the remainder of the bid period, then the junior fish get to feed. Personally, I think real time trip trades would be much better. I think you could do one or the other, but not both.

JollyF15

I think is being driven by the BOT CBers. The real question is how do we shut those clowns down so the rest of us have a chance at open time.

Popeye

So because the current time based bidding was from years gone by, FH is suggesting that we negotiate to have a new system that enhances the senior guys QOL even more at the expense of the middle and junior crew members?

Why would the company care about a seniority based open time system? Is the company experiencing any difficulty getting pilots to pick up trips?

It is time to splash some Aqua Velva on our faces. We are fretting over how to work extra just to help cover our mortgages. What we need to get clear in our heads is we have paid dearly to help the company make millions during a soft economy. The next contract needs to recognize that effort on our part. This next contract must include compensation and work rules changes written not with intent but with clarity that makes us whole as this economy recovers.

If FH wants to reminisce about the good old days, lets go back to pre-December 2007.

Busboy

Real time trip trading. I'd be all for it, if only there was such a thing. I'm sure if there was, FDX, being one of the most technologically advanced companies in the world, would surely be using it!?!

Kind of like Eastern was, 25 years ago.

Cujo

... not a "open time cap" but a monthly cap...period

Ranger

I agree with that one. Can you imagine the howl that you'd hear coming from MEM?

FLMD11CAPT

That would require the ending of carry over, which I support, but probably not a reality in the near future. Carry over or not, all trips will get flown so it is a zero net loss for mgmt. Yet they will sell it dearly in terms of our negotiating capitol; as if it was near and dear to them. Just another tactic to dilute our position and negotiating capitol. We need to focus on Scheduling/work rules, Retirement, Insurance, Training and Section 4. JMHO

Baja

[quote=Auger In;666709]The senior people already get the best trips, vacation, pay, etc. But to give them first pick of open time as well erases the ONLY chance a junior person has of picking up a decent trip.

I'm relatively senior and agree with this answer. Now, I believe in the seniority system and sometimes find that "junior" pilots put too much weight in fighting the benefits of seniority as if they want absolutely nothing to look forward to. Regardless of what one says today, I find that after a long career, most have a change of heart (to varying degree) about what seniority should bring.

I was junior for a long time and lived within the system that some fight every day. I felt the pain of being junior and have enjoyed the benefits of being somewhat senior now. As a history lesson, this issue came up over vacation bidding where the senior pilots pretty much gobbled up all the summer and holiday vacations. That gave birth to the current system whereby we have a phased vacation bidding system which allows the wealth to be spread over a greater seniority group. So some things have changed here over time to average out the good and bad of seniority. Today's system is reasonably balanced in my one opinion so I wouldn't prioritize a seniority based open time grab.

Paddles

I respectfully disagree.

I am very junior in my seat and about 60% in the company. But my long term goal is to be able to work almost month on and month off. What is wrong with working 100 hours one month (although I can't now), and then take the next month off to fish, hunt, chase momma around the house... One of the still great things about working at FedEx is the flexability of when I want to work.

Sure makes that loooong commute easier If I only have to do it half as many times.


Lets not take that away, Please