Pilot Retention

PBS Meetings 

Dropped For IOE Settlement

Inefficient Schedule of the Week

P2P TRAINING

SCHEDULING REPORT

NEXT WEEK

Pilot Retention

For the past year, your MEC officers have been telling MAG Senior Management that they needed to take steps to implement a “pilot retention program.” Our attrition numbers continue to be staggering and unsustainable. Obviously, the recently announced “refer a friend” bonus isn’t going to solve the problem.   

Here are some suggestions we’ve already given on what needs to be done: 

• Focus on the pilots who are here NOW. They need a reasonable quality of life, and they need to be treated with dignity and respect.   

• Comply with the Harris Award now.  

• Stop junior assigning pilots on Golden Days.   

• Give more incentives to pilots who pick up open time and stop playing games with pay when they do pick it up.  

• Consider retention bonuses for pilots on property today who stay another two years (consider this an off-set to the quicker upgrades they could get if they left for one of our competitors). 

• Consider increasing First Officer pay rates for years one through three.  

• Direct schedulers to build lines with clusters of three days off—they certainly are not doing it now.

• Stop rewarding managers who knowingly disregard the pilot contract. Get rid of such managers.

• Realize that there is an obvious nationwide pilot shortage and pilots no longer have to simply put up with abuse. We have options.  

MAG Management still has an opportunity to slow the attrition rate and stabilize our company. There is still an opportunity to make MAG the regional airline of choice for pilots. Your MEC remains willing to work with Management cooperatively. But decisive steps must be taken immediately. Meanwhile, MAG pilots are talking with their feet, as we predicted.

PBS Meetings 

The on-again, off-again PBS meetings are now on-again.  Members of your Negotiating Committee and Scheduling Committee are set to meet with Management March 20-22 in Phoenix. The goal is to resume discussions on a test phase agreement for PBS. If a test phase agreement is reached, the parties would conduct discussions on permanent PBS language during that phase. The MEC has made clear that any such permanent PBS program would be subject to pilot ratification. We will report on the results of this week’s meetings in the next Hotline.

Dropped For IOE Settlement

As you may recall, the settlement agreement between ALPA and MAG Management pertaining to Grievance No. MAG- 031-03 GG (Dropped for IOE Case) provided that upon ratification of the Letter of Agreement by the pilot group, a settlement fund of $9800.00 would be set aside for payments to affected pilots. Pilots who were improperly reassigned after being DFI’d prior to August 11, 2004 were listed on the Affected Pilots List provided they submitted a Grievance Investigation Report. Immediately after the pilot group ratified the DFI Letter of Agreement, the Grievance Committee began the arduous process of reviewing and verifying the many GIR’s submitted in connection with this settlement. The Grievance Committee has nearly completed that process and will submit the list of pilots to Management. Settlement checks will be issued by the Company, as provided in the settlement agreement. We will advise you as to when the checks will be issued. The full text of the settlement agreement is posted on the website at www.alpa.org\mag along with the full text of the Letter of Agreement.

Inefficient Schedule of the Week

This week’s award goes to PHX based CRJ Captain Aaron Zarosinski, a ten-year captain. Last week he enjoyed Pairing X9239. Four days, beginning Wednesday at 0747 and ending in PHX on Saturday at 1940. Over a four-day period, he enjoyed nearly 80 hours of time away from base and earned a whopping 11:48 hours of flight pay. Aaron will receive a $10.00 Starbuck’s card for his efforts, and with our sympathies.

P2P TRAINING

Being an airline pilot comes with a hectic lifestyle, so we understand that traveling to Phoenix on a precious day off isn't exactly an option. Therefore, your Communications Committee will be conducting online Pilot-2-Pilot training on Monday March 26 and Tuesday March 27. We are looking to ramp up our Pilot 2 Pilot staffing as we approach Section Six negotiations, and we feel that online training (via conference call) will be a perfect way to attract and train new volunteers. If you are interested, please email your availability to magcommunications@alpa.org and we will schedule the class times this week. Thanks for your interest in the Pilot-2-Pilot program.

Also, P2P Chairman BNA Captain Tadd Leggatte has stepped down from his role for personal reasons. We'd like to welcome ORD Captain Steve LaMascus in his place. Thanks to both of you for all your efforts and commitment.

SCHEDULING REPORT

Scheduling Committee Chairman PHX Captain Darrell Cox and his team were not released for pairing/line construction review for the upcoming bid. Accordingly, the upcoming bid lines for 0705 have no ALPA involvement.  

CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE PROGRAM (CIRP)

CIRP Chairman Phoenix FO Louise Cullinan would like to remind pilots about the resources available thru CIRP. A "critical incident" is any event which has a stressful impact sufficient enough to overwhelm the usually effective coping skills of either an individual or a group.

ALPA’s Critical Incident Response Program Committee uses pilots and spouses trained as peers to lessen the stress reactions that accidents or incidents may have on pilots, accident investigators, and their families.

Pilot and Family Peer Support Volunteers are trained in structured defusing and debriefing techniques that help flight crew members and their families more effectively deal with the normal reactions of the individual to an abnormal event in their lives. This time-critical, peer-based support accelerates recovery from those events before harmful stress reactions damage job performance, careers, families, personal life, and health.

In this time of transition and stress, our CIRP Committee offers help and support to any pilots who need it. Please contact the volunteers for any critical issues you may have. Also, the Annual CIRP Conference is coming up in Denver, April 10-12^th, 2007. For more information, please contact Louise.Cullinan@alpa.org.  

• ORD CA         Liana Hart              702.382.0828

• PHX FO         Louise Cullinan         970.291.9367

• CLT CA         Tom Powers            570.814.1225

Your Negotiating Committee, Scheduling Committee and MEC officers are meeting next week in an attempt to get PBS and quality of life back in motion. We will update you on all details as they unfold. As always, fly safely and have fun.

-MAG MEC Interim Chairman Brian Richardson

“Ask not what your union can do for you. Ask what you can do for your union.”