Friday, June 11, 2010

Good Scheduling Equals Quality of Life

Good Scheduling Equals Quality of Life

Without a doubt your work schedule is the most important factor affecting your quality of life on the Line. Imagine a scenario where major improvements are made to our scheduling rules using the vast experience and best ideas of the Line Pilots. Visualize the power of Line Pilots collaborating with the MEC who then takes these innovative ideas to management. That possibility exists today if you will take a moment to ask your Representatives to the MEC to ensure your input is heard.

DALPA and Management have agreed to create a Scheduling Optimization Team (SOT) to “meet, discuss, and craft recommendations on PWA changes.” The SOT will work to find common sense solutions to various scheduling issues, to include, but not limited to:

•Seniority on reserve trip assignments.
•Bidding for CQ training.
•Assignment to short call.
•Calculation of reserve requirements.
•Reserve unstacking parameters.
•Enhanced communications technology.*

The SOT is an ideal opportunity for the MEC to work more collaboratively with the Line Pilots. It would be a real travesty if a handful of pilots worked with management without broad input from the pilot group. At a minimum, several controlled access web pages should be created that have a comment section for every subject that the SOT would potentially discuss with management. Pilots could then post helpful ideas for the committee to consider. A more collaborative approach would be to create an interactive web presence that is moderated, allowing pilots to propose and then build on the ideas of one another (with unhelpful or politically motivated comments being removed by the moderator).

An effort of this nature will only occur if you ask for it. Send your ideas, comments and a request for a dedicated effort by the DALPA MEC to seek out our best ideas for scheduling. Please do it today; the SOT is scheduled to conclude in November.

Contact info for members of the DALPA MEC:

* From the Council 44 May 17 code-a-phone