This is the SWAPA Ride Report for Friday, March 22nd, 2024.
The SWAPA Ride Report is your source for headlines, updates, and answers to frequently asked questions regarding your new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
I’m your host, First Officer Tony Mulhare from SWAPA Communications.
First up this week, our Benefits committee will release a podcast next Monday, 25 March, detailing the revised SWAPA STD and LTD agreements with Metlife. Tune in Monday for information on rates and benefits.
Several Frequently asked questions regarding the transition to the new plan:
First, when do the new plans take effect and what happens if I go out on disability before then?
The new plans are effective on 1 May. Any pilot that goes out on disability before then will be covered by the existing plans based on their elections from last fall’s open enrollment period.
Can I opt out of STD and LTD? Yes, but not until Open Enrollment which will be 1 April – 12 April.
What if I opt out and want back in later?
You will be required to submit a Statement of Health and MetLife will determine if you are accepted back into one of the plans. It will include questions regarding prescriptions, medical history, and any other topics they see as important to your situation. MetLife will assess the risk that you are to them and the insurance plan. To be clear, there is no statement of health required to opt in to the plans now during the special open enrollment period, but if you opt out now, there will be a statement of health, along with its inherent risk of rejection, in order to opt back in in the future.
Another question: What if I’m currently out on medical, will I be switched to the new benefit amounts?
NO, your date of disability is already established and you will remain on the current plans, but, with newly negotiated terms. These will also be discussed during the Monday podcast.
Next up, Retirement:
SWAPA is still waiting for Empower to take the administrative actions required to enable transferring pilot profit sharing accounts to the Schwab 401K plan. Empower has not completed the required programming yet, and therefore pilots are not yet able to make the transfer. SWAPA will get the word out when that changes.
In the world of Contract Administration, these were some of the most frequent calls fielded by the staff:
First up, I ran the Audit Tool and noticed that the credit in CWA is very close but does not match exactly. Is there something wrong with the Audit Tool?
No, the Audit Tool is correct. The reason that many of these audit values are very close, but not the same, is that the new language no longer allows over-block flying to be free to the company for the first 4 minutes. Although this language is implemented, the company’s programming has not yet been completed, so the trip total displayed to you does not include this overfly change. This discrepancy will be rectified when the Company runs a system-wide audit for March to ensure these are captured and adjusted, no action is required on your part. This audit will be conducted by the 10th of April, so please be patient.
Next up, a pilot asks: I have a duty period with 4 flights. The cumulative ground time between the 4 flights adds up to 3 hours and 15 minutes. This should pay me 0.45 Ground Time Override, right?
A: No, GTO is not cumulative for the duty period or trip. Each ground time is independently calculated for its own GTO calculation. Despite having 3:15 of ground time through a duty period, GTO will only apply if you have more than 2:30 of ground time between two fights or before the first flight of the duty period. Reference CBA Section 2.J.3. for all things related to Ground Time Override
Another question: I bid premium for a Split To Cover trip that was running through Open Time. Instead of being awarded to a premium open time bidder, the trip was assigned to an available reserve. Is scheduling able to use a reserve in this situation? I thought all STC trips had to be offered at premium first.
A: Yes, this is an appropriate reserve assignment. The POT requirement tied to STC trips, in CBA Section 13.A.2., is that the original trip must be processed through POT in its original form before it can be split. Once it is STC and being run in its new form, there is no reserve limitation, unless triggered by being within 2-hours of the reserve’s RAP.
Another pilot asks: With Month-to-Month Overlap, the new language discontinues the use of non-paid DHs. Is that being implemented manually?
A: No, it is not at this time. All the new language for Month-to-Month Overlap is being implemented in the 3rd quarter of 2024; with a few exceptions of “Pilot Corrections” in subpart 9. K.5. Until this language is implemented, we are still under the old language that allows for non-paid DHs and corrections.
One final question: I had to call out fatigued in the middle of my POT award. Should I be pay protected for my premium pay? Will my recovery plan trigger LCO against my original award?
A: Well, per CBA Section 2.November, you are protected for the full original value, including pay multiples. When determining LCO, the fatigue recovery plan will be considered the new original.
Moving on, here is the latest from the Schedule Research Committee:
With the first May Vacancy Nashville awards comes a host of questions regarding paid moves. CBA Section 3.K.2. covers paid moves to a new domicile. The NC was able to secure a Letter of Agreement at this week’s Joint Implementation Committee meeting with the company to modify the language. New language will allow for pilots who reside within 75 miles of a Southwest City within 1.6 TFP of Nashville to be eligible for a paid move to within a 250 mile radius from Nashville. This change affects many pilots that lived within 75 miles of Midway or St Louis that were awarded Nashville this week. Details are in the 21 March “On the Radar” email in your company wnco account inbox.
A few calendar changes going forward.
Monthly Open Time now closes March 23rd, this Saturday
ELITT opens Sunday the 24th
April 1st pairings stay in ELITT through Mar 30th.
Finally, a follow up note concerning Ground Time Override.
GTO At the beginning of a trip, meaning excessive ground time prior to the first flight after a report caused by a delay, will be added to the payroll report in a manual process at the end of the month. Payroll usually has until the 10th of the following month to finish this process, for example 10 April to conduct manual audits of March trips.
That’s all for Q&A this week. Just a reminder, a more robust Q&A can be found at SWAPA.org, along with all the resources for the CBA under the “Contract Corner” tab.
Thank you for joining this week’s ride report. If you missed anything during this week’s report, a summary will be in your inbox soon. Fly safe, fly informed.