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Greetings, Don't Flip your BID!
Dear American
Eagle Flight Attendant:
As your MEC
Scheduling Chair, I would like to offer you some information
regarding the continued erosion of our quality of life issues in
the bidpackets. Despite the fact that the scheduling reps at
every base have been working hard to make the schedules better,
as well as to improve some of our quality of life issues, the
bid packets are undeniably getting worse. I would like to
explain what your reps try passionately to accomplish, and the
reasons behind the decline in the bid packets.
Above all, we
try to make variety our priority when planning the bid packets.
Experience has proven that when there are more types of trips to
choose from, more people will be satisfied with the results. We
also ask for variety within variety, which means not all 2-day
trips start at noon and end at noon, flying 3 legs on each day,
for example. Number of days off is extremely important to our
crews, as is commutability for those who have to travel to and
from work. All trips cannot be commutable, but we are normally
able to provide a large percentage of commutability without
negatively impacting the bid packet too much. We also address
sit times, meal breaks, duty time and reduced rests.
Sometimes, you
will see a change in your trip at some point on your line. This
is due to marketing changes, and the entire bid packet is
affected. If there is a marketing change on the 15th, you will
most likely have one set of matching trips the first half of the
month, and a different set of matching trips the second half.
We often get complaints about transition trips being different
than the rest of your line. This is left over flying going into
the new month, and may disrupt the commutability of the line.
Although the planners do make an effort to keep the report and
end times similar to the rest of the trips in the line, it is
not always possible.
Most of all, I
want to assure you that there is not one base rep who does not
bring your concerns to the table and try desperately to ensure
that your needs and wishes are fulfilled. They all work
diligently with the planners who build the bid packets
throughout the month and attend quarterly Round Table meetings
with the management involved in crew planning. They can call on
me for assistance at any time, and I will jump in and work on
resolving an issue along with them.
All of that
said, I am very aware of the drastic change in the bid packets
at all bases for May and will agree that they are the worst
we've seen in a very long time. The driving factor is the pilot
shortage we are experiencing. Unfortunately, this situation
will only worsen as the AA pilots flow back to AA and new pilots
are recruited and trained for AE. Since we are co-paired, we
will suffer for this as well.
The company
determines the number of lines to be built based on staffing,
and our contract states that 90% of all known flying must be
included in the bid packet, allowing only 10% to be placed in
open time. Therefore, we are limited to X amount of lines,
which must include 90% of the flying. This is impacting
commutability, rest, duty days and even variety.
The company
does not have the manpower to build separate bid packets, which
would incur a whole new set of problems. They are, however,
experimenting with building extra lines for the flight
attendants, allowing the remaining lines to be slightly better
than the pilot lines. Keep in mind, however, we are also
dealing with a high rate of flight attendant attrition.
Please
understand that your reps know what you want and are not giving
up on trying to achieve that. We have a Round Table meeting
with the company on May 23rd and welcome your input. Feel free
to call or e-mail us with concerns or suggestions to take to the
meeting. We are listening, and we hear you, and we are doing
our best to get us through this crisis in the best way possible.
Thank you,
Nancy Hunter
MEC Scheduling
Chair
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