Oct. 21, 1999
Maintenance Write-Ups
Calling in Sick
The current fallacy under which
management is operating is that pilot “sick” calls are the reason for the
operational problems. They aren’t and we all know it. However, given management’s
mentality, keep in the mind the following information regarding sick calls:
1. Management tracks your sick calls.
Be careful about calling in sick for the last turn, calling in sick after receiving an
assignment while on reserve.
2. Under section 14 of the contract,
management can request a doctor’s note from “an accredited doctor confirming that the
pilot is or was unable to perform his regular duties because of personal illness, injury
or disability.”
3. Such notes can only be requested
when:
Open enrollment for insurance for the pilots is planned for November 1st-29th.
To date there are no increases in the LTD buy-up for the pilots and the CIGNA HMO medical
plans. There will be a sight increase in the CIGNA PPO plans and pilots will not be
offered the MAYO HMO plan. If you have more specific questions please contact the R&I
committee.
“(a) The company has
reasonable cause to believe that misuse of sick leave by the pilot may have occurred, in
which case, at the request of the Pilot, the company shall furnish such cause in writing;
or
(b) The pilot’s
absence from duty occurred in conjunction with his vacation period or holiday(s).”
4. The word “holidays” is
defined in the contract to include: Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day,
Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, and New Years Day.
Your MEC is outraged by management’s
potential lack of respect for our professionalism, and we strongly caution you to fully
understand your rights under the contract. We also advise you to consult with your
accredited doctor when and if you call in sick. Hopefully, one day soon, management will
realize that it is to blame for the company’s operational problems, and then,
perhaps, those of us who are truly sick can spend our time recuperating, rather than
wasting our energy trying to protect ourselves with doctors’ notes.
Insurance enrollment
update
Arbitration Victory
Update
Last week, the company’s System Board members asked Arbitrator Sinicroppi to convene the
Board for another Executive Session. This request is presumably an attempt to alter the
arbitrator’s decision and delay the inevitable. In response, the association’s board
members, Capts. Goin and Nehez, sent a letter to the arbitrator objecting to the company’s
request. Our legal counsel advised us that it is unlikely the arbitrator will
entertain the request and reconvene the Board. In the event that the arbitrator does
reconvene the Board, based upon the language in the decision, it is highly unlikely that
the current decision will be changed. We will keep you advised as things develop.
New Publications
Also, the Central Air
Safety Committee will distribute a new issue of its newsletter, SafetyNet. The
issue discusses new wildlife hazards that may result from the Phoenix Rio Salado Project.
All pilots are strongly
encouraged to read both of these publications.
Don Steinman Update
Retirement Dinner
LEC Meeting
That’s it for
tonight. The next hotline update will be on Thursday, October 28. Thanks for listening,
and remember to wear your ALPA pin.
- Maintenance Write-Ups
- Calling in Sick
- Insurance enrollment update
- Arbitration Victory Update
- New Publications
- Don Steinman Update
- Retirement Dinner
- LEC and Local Council meetings
| MEC Hotline | ||
| This is MEC Vice Chairman Bill Archer with the MEC Hotline update for Thursday, October 21. Tonight’s topics are: The MEC continues to get reports that pilots are reluctant to make aircraft logbook entries for maintenance discrepancies. Remember, a recent change to the FOM requires a logbook entry anytime you call Maintenance to the aircraft, even for such routine actions as oil or hydraulic service. Pilots who fail to do so risk enforcement action, and their certificates. If you call Maintenance, by phone or radio, on the ground or in the air, you are required to make a logbook entry. Another area of concern is pilots not reading the MEL carefully. Remember take your time and do it right. Don’t let maintenance, gate people, or the desire to leave on time prevent you from doing your job carefully. Over the last several weeks, some of our pilots have experienced operational disasters equivalent to the summer of 1996. Several of our pilots who have called in sick are reporting that they are being queried as to the nature of their illness. We would hope that management would focusing on the problems — maintenance and weather– instead of looking for a scapegoat. Well guess what? The scapegoat du jour appears to be sick calls.
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