an email telling him what you'd like to read about and if .... It's been a blast
FROM THE MEC VICE CHAIRMAN
You "ROCK!" We asked for your support for Hope House and FedEx Family House and you stepped up exactly as would be expected. I can’t say it enough times that the character of this pilot group is unmatched. Within an hour of putting out the request to help Amy raise funds for these two charities, the money started to come in. If you have not done so, please consider adding your dollar to this great cause. If you are in the Memphis area and want to join us Thursday, please do. You will see firsthand how important every dollar is. If you plan on joining us, wearing your uniform would be great, but it's not mandatory (click here for details regarding the visits this week). I’m here to tell you it will be a sobering experience. These children and their families need our support more than words can convey. Your generosity is inspiring. I am so grateful to be associated with each and every one of you. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! John
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JANUARY SIG NOTES
Yesterday, the January 2017 SIG Notes
were published. Below we've highlighted a couple of things from
the SIG Notes that we thought should be republished. Fatigue Risk Management The Important Hub Turn Nap “When you can't figure out what to do, it's time for a nap.” ― Mason Cooley Flying at night is inherently more difficult than during the day. We attempt to overcome our
natural circadian rhythm. It is more difficult than many of us think. We take it for granted. It is what we do. The sleep data we have collected has shown how professional you all are; how good you are at getting sleep needed for night flying. You get as much sleep as possible. The hub turn nap is very important because it gives us a boost prior to landing at the bottom of our circadian cycle. It is imperative we are fit for duty when we land at our last destination. Please allow the company to help protect you by informing them of your fatigue level any time it is in doubt. Pat Hagerty Fatigue Risk Management Chairman FAA IMSAFE Checklist Illness, Mental, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion (Eating) INSITE Tickets The most efficient way for management to be made aware of and correct issues pertaining to hotels, catering and ground transportation is via the new INSITE Reporting System. This electronic form is accessed via the pilot.fedex.com website home page. If you have a hotel, catering or ground transportation concern/issue, positive or negative, we encourage you to submit the ticket. Please submit a separate ticket for each issue (For example, please submit one ticket for a hotel issue and if there was also a ground transportation issue please submit a second ticket.) These tickets, combined with your correspondence to the Trip Services Committee, are reviewed at our quarterly meetings with the Company and are instrumental in making changes. We encourage input. Please e-mail us at
[email protected] .
Mark Stafiej, Trip Services Committee Chairman Mike Pearcy, Trip Services Committee Vice-Chairman
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YOUR HELP NEEDED! FEDEX PILOTS' CHARITABLE FUND
The holidays will be quickly approaching us, and we, your FDX MEC, Officers and Staff are asking for your help to support the FedEx Pilot’s Charitable Fund! This Fund is set up to provide monetary support around the world towards child related activities. In Memphis, the Fund focuses on the FedEx Family House and the Hope House, and in Indianapolis the Fund is engaged in supporting a pilot-themed room at the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. The FedEx Family House has housed over 40,000 families since 2010 whose children are facing life-altering medical treatment at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis. For over four years FDX ALPA has assisted the FedEx Family House in gathering toys for children. Sadly, the FedEx Family House is telling us that if they can’t get the toys this year they might have to forgo the annual Holiday Village, where the families of children in the House are allowed to pick out toys for Christmas. Our goal is to provide at least 200 toys and a monetary contribution to FedEx Family House. In addition, FDX ALPA has supported the Hope House here in Memphis for over 15 years. Hope House provides high quality early childhood education and social services for over 150 families a year affected by HIV/AIDS, and provides gifts to over 50 families during the holidays. Each year, FDX ALPA has provided a minimum of 15 holiday meals, has adopted a family to bring Christmas joy in the form of clothing and toys, and has provided a monetary contribution to Hope House to support their efforts.
This is how you can you help: Go to FedEx Pilot’s Charitable Fund and donate a minimum of $10. Another way to contribute to this worthwhile cause is AmazonSmile. For every dollar spent using this program, Amazon will donate 0.5% to your choice of charity. Please register on AmazonSmile with the FedEx Pilot’s Charitable Fund as your charity. Then, each and every time you purchase from Amazon use smile.amazon.com and not amazon.com. It will take $2,000 in purchases to equal $10, but every dollar counts.
Bring a toy by the FDX ALPA office at 1770 Kirby Parkway, Suite 300 in Memphis. Please take a few moments of your time and help support the FedEx Pilot’s Charitable Fund. Everyday can be a struggle for these children who are undergoing life- threatening illnesses. They typically are not afforded the life many of us enjoy. UPDATE: To participate in this year's visits to the Hope House and FedEx Family House, please click here for dates and times. From all of us, a heartfelt thank you!
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MEC OFFICE HOLIDAY HOURS
As we approach the holidays, we would like to provide you with the dates and times the MEC office will be closed. Please see details below. Wednesday, December 14th - Office will close at noon for the annual holiday luncheon for MEC staff. The office will reopen on Thursday, December 15th at 8 a.m. Friday, December 23rd - Closed Monday, December 26th - Holiday; Christmas Day Observed Tuesday, December 27th - Closed Monday, January 2nd - Holiday; New Year's Day Observed
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SCHWAB INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT AND FINANCIAL COUNSELING SESSIONS
Memphis: Dates: Thursday, January 5th , Thursday, January 26th. Schwab Executive Services Financial Consultants will be available on Thursday to conduct individual Retirement & Financial planning sessions with FedEx ALPA member pilots and their spouses. See the link below for available times. The sessions are free and scheduled for one hour in length. The slots fill up fast, so reserve yours now by clicking here. Charles Schwab is ALPA’s preferred financial provider. Some of the benefits available for ALPA member pilots from Charles Schwab include complimentary financial planning, low-cost trading, educational online resources, etc. To learn more about the ALPA-Schwab relationship, please visit www.schwab.com/alpa or contact Sylvia Arellano,
the lead Executive Services Financial Consultant for FedEx ALPA pilots, directly at (720) 418-4200.
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MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE WELCOMES NEW HIRES
FDX Membership Committee members had the pleasure of giving a "Welcome Aboard" presentation on behalf of FDX ALPA to our newest pilots on December 6th, 2016. The class of 42 pilots began their new hire indoctrination on December 5th. The new hires were assigned as MEM based FOs in the MD11, 777, 767, and A300. The background of our newest pilots covers all commercial, corporate, military, and charter aviation. Please join us in welcoming our newest pilots to the FedEx pilot seniority list! The famous caboose seniority number is 4537.
Ben Peterson, Aaron Granger, Joe Waddell, Brian Schenk, Ryan Wellman, Ryan Cunningham Greg Oboyle, Nick Carr, Rich Smith, Chris Turner, Michelle Scott, Jon DeClerck, J.P. Boster Tyler Harzinski, Jeff Gardner, Kevin Pickering, Brian Rippe, Andrew Barnett, Michael Hopkins Josh Niedzwiecki, Jerry Cummings, Andy Capetillo, Carrie Ann Conley, Edward Arnold, John Pope, Rod Forrest, Russell Fain, Jessica Torbec, Sean Herrboldt, Jesse Lane, Allen Fox, Colin Smiddy, Scott Chomicz, Dennis Adams, Peyton Russell, Jeff Detig, Jedd Morris, Micah Jones, Keith Moore John Ourada, John Czachor, Mark Koszalka
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LOOKING FOR AN END-OF-YEAR TAX DEDUCTION? CONSIDER P4P
That’s right! A donation made before Jan. 1, 2017 to the ALPA Emergency Relief Fund, also known as Pilots for Pilots (P4P), can be claimed as a deduction against your 2016 U.S. income taxes. At the same time you’re limiting your expenses, you’re helping your fellow pilots and their families when they need it most! P4P is a nonprofit charity designated as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)3 by the Internal Revenue Service. The Fund was created to offer financial assistance to ALPA members and their dependents to cover the immediate, extraordinary expenses that follow a widespread, catastrophic event. Please note that while P4P is available to both U.S. and Canadian members, donations are only taxdeductible in the United States. To learn more about P4P or make a contribution, watch the one-minute P4P promo and visit www.alpa.org/relieffund. Make a difference in the lives of your fellow ALPA members. Donate to P4P today!
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FROM THE TRAINING COMMITTEE
We have updated our training webpage! To go directly to it, please click here or use the following QR code:
What's new on our page? We have a new feedback form that allows you to comment directly to us on anything to do with training. It is fairly inclusive on instructors, devices, technologies, and curricula design. We need to hear from you, and this is a great way to help us represent you and speak on your behalf. Check it out.
We now have a button for our E-zine…Gear Up! Spread the word and help us market Gear Up! Send
[email protected] an email telling him what you’d like to read about and if you like the E-zine. Glen is the editor, be sure and tell him thanks! CQ Prep is under construction. I cannot post LOE and CLOE information, but I am open to what you expect to find at this link. Obviously, we are always open to your suggestions for what you want/need on this page, so be quick to contact us. Which brings me to the main point—contacting us. Who are we and why would you contact us? Each fleet has a training representative that is familiar with all training curricula you would use. Should you have questions regarding ITU or CQ preparation, Section 11 CBA concerns, or anything training in nature, the gentlemen listed below are your points of contact. On our webpage, you will find their contact information. For ease, they are provided below as well: A300
[email protected] 901.361.7982 B757/767
[email protected] 703.338.1809 B777
[email protected] 901.596.6357 MD-11
[email protected] 901.484.8682 Thanks for taking the time to read this and please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Below is a link to a previous article published by our Scheduling Committee. Captain Matt Morley FDX MEC Training Committee Chairman Schoolhouse Cash - Maximize Your Pay During ITU At the beginning of 2014, the Scheduling Committee published an article titled, "Schoolhouse Cash-Maximize Your Pay During ITU." We felt this article may be beneficial for some of you, so we are providing a link where you can refresh your memory regarding this topic. To read the article, please click here. You can also find a link to it on the Training and Scheduling Committee webpages.
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FROM THE SECRETARY TREASURER
Wet-Lease Penalty Payment Your MEC recently approved a per capita distribution plan for 2016 wet-lease penalties incurred by the company so far this year. Penalty payments were broken into three blocks of wet-leasing activity resulting in the following per pilot payment to be paid on these dates:
Wet-Leasing Activity
Distribution Amount
Pay Date
January 4-February 28, 2016
$377.21
November 15, 2016
February 29-May 29, 2016
$725.90
November 30, 2016
May 30-June 26, 2016
$382.51
December 15, 2016
In order to be eligible for each penalty payment, you must have been an active pilot during any portion of the dates listed above. For example, if you were an active pilot from January 4th, 2016 through March 15, 2016 and then retired on March 16, 2016, you would be eligible for the first two payments but not the third. An active pilot will be defined as a pilot who was employed by the company during any portion of a relevant time period as described above. Pilots on military leave during all or part of a relevant time period (as described above) will be considered on active status for that relevant period. Pilots on a leave of absence other than military leave status for an entire relevant period will be considered on inactive for that period. Pilots on disciplinary suspension for an entire time period shall be considered on inactive status for that period. Payments will be listed as a recruiting bonus on your paystubs and the amounts shown above are gross pay before any deductions. Third Installment of the Lump Sum Retro Payment We are currently working with the company to compute the amounts of the third and last “holdback” installment of the Lump Sum Retro Payment per the Lump Sum Distribution Letter in CBA 2015. The purpose of this last payment was to reserve funds for corrective purposes (challenges and signing bonus categories which were not fully resolved at the time of agreement). The focus of current computations is pilots who were on long-term military leave during the amendable period and whether their bonus category changed upon their return from long term military leave. We have been discussing certain elements of the method of this calculation with the company. In addition, the current 767 passover grievance may result in different bonus categories for some pilots that could also impact the holdback
distribution. In this regard, we are now looking into possible recalculations that would be necessary if that passover grievance is successful or otherwise resolved. With that additional proviso, we hope to be able to provide an additional payment from the holdback to the pilots by the end of January 2017. Budget Update Our 2016 MEC Budget was designed to put $1.5 million into our reserve. As of the end of October, we have contributed $3.4 million into our reserve. Your MEC recently passed the 2017 budget and you can view it here. The 2017 budget is also designed to put $1.5 million into our reserve for future negotiations, while increasing spending by 10% due to higher forecasted income for the next year. FDX MEC Resolutions and MEC Meeting Minutes At the most recent MEC meeting, your MEC passed several resolutions and approved meeting minutes from previous MEC meetings. MEC Officer Elections The FDX MEC recently voted to change the timing of MEC Officer Elections in the FDX MEC Policy Manual. The MEC will elect a MEC Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary-Treasurer during the next MEC meeting on January 30th-February 3rd 2017. The two-year term of office will begin April 1st, 2017. If you are interested in running for one of these positions, please submit a resume and/or position letter to me at
[email protected]. The MEC will be interviewing candidates during the next MEC meeting prior to voting. The date for the interviews will be established in the meeting order of business in mid-January. [back to top]
FROM THE SAFETY COMMITTEE: EMEA RAMP PARKING
We have been receiving reports from pilots flying in the European Middle East Area (EMEA) that our pilots in that area are not able to obtain ramp parking information as described in the FOM Section 5.41 ACARs in-range reports. The company is trying to determine whether this is a technical problem or is due to the ramps in the area not loading your parking information in the system. If this occurs during your flight, please submit an INSITE report under Arrival-Ramp Communications.
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PILOTS FOR KIDS
With the holidays rapidly approaching, we are beginning the planning of our Pilots for Kids events. Below you will find information regarding events in various locations and how you can participate. For information on the location nearest you, select from the list below. Please continue to read the Positive Rate Weekly as more events and details will be added. ANC DEN LAX IND MEM- Le Bonheur Children's Hospital
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CHRISTMAS GALA TO BENEFIT WEST TENNESSEE VETERANS' HOME
The 1st annual ARCpoint Christmas Gala is a fundraising event for the West Tennessee State Veterans'
Home to be built in Arlington, TN. The Gala will be held on Friday, December 16 beginning at 7 p.m. The location for the event is a historical landmark in Memphis, the 19th Century Club Mansion. It has been completely renovated into an exquisite Japanese Steak and Sushi Lounge. The attire is semi-formal, we encourage veterans to wear their dress blues. Hors d'oeurves, sushi, and food will be provided throughout this enchanting house. Live music, photographer, and afterparty to follow! To purchase tickets, please click here.
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PROFESSIONAL PILOT - TERMINAL CHECKLIST QUIZ
Professional Pilot magazine has given us permission to reprint their "Terminal Checklist" section of the magazine. I have always enjoyed this section of the magazine and thought you would, too. So, on behalf of Professional Pilot, please enjoy this new addition to our Positive Rate Weekly. Please click here to view the checklist. John Cardaci MEC Vice Chairman
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COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN POSITIONS OPEN
Captain Rich Hughey has decided to step down from his position as the Scheduling Committee Chairman to focus more on his responsibilities at ALPA National. As you know, Captain Hughey has spent years working on our behalf with our scheduling committee. Please be sure and thank Rich for his dedication to our pilots when you see him on the line. In addition, Captain John Gabriele has decided to step down from the Accident Investigation Committee Chairman position, effective January 30th, in order to prepare for his upcoming retirement. While the Safety Committee is sad to see him go, we understand his desire to enjoy these last months of flying. If you see John, thank him for his years of dedicated ALPA safety work. In accordance with the FDX MEC Policy Manual, those pilots who desire to be considered for these positions should submit their resumes to MEC Vice Chairman Captain John Cardaci at
[email protected].
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RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
As we approach the end of 2016, we have several pilots who will be retiring. Please take a few moments to read the retirement announcements below. We would like to congratulate each of them and wish them
all the best as they enter into retirement. Milton "Skip" Balanciere "Retirement date on December 31, 2016; coming up on 27th anniversary in May 2017." If you would like to contact Skip, he can be reached at
[email protected] or 210-279-8216.
David Bogart "It's been a relatively short flying career compared to most of the pilots at FedEx. Time has passed quickly since getting my private SEL license at age 27 in 1981. Hired at Flying Tigers just two year prior to the FedEx buy-out. . .the past 29 years, 144 days seems to have lapsed quicker than expected. . .if that's possible. Most of the above mentioned time has been solely in the MD-11 based in ANC. . .24 years and a few months. . .and I still haven't figured it out. It's been a blast and I thank all that made it enjoyable." If you would like to contact David, he can be reached at
[email protected] or 907-229-3937. His mailing address is P.O. Box 874551, Wasilla, AK 99687.
Michael Putnam "Hey guys and gals. I'm done. Actually, I've been done flying since last December (in case any of my 2 friends missed me). I've been out on a medical since then, but I'm turning 65 next month, so I'm officially retired on the 31st. I would like to thank all of you who kept me alive for the last 21 years. I would also especially like to thank those former Air Force fighter pilots who helped me get hired by FedEx. It's been a great job and I appreciate all of you who do it so well. Julia and I are in Fort Worth. Please don't hesitate to look us up if your in the vicinity. I'm buying! Fly Safe Please!" Putt If you would like to contact Michael, he can be reached at
[email protected].
Knute Rosche "This December 17th will be my last "down & locked." Just short of 29 years here at FDX and 12 years of USMC helicopters is what I call "living-the-dream."
Just a quick thanks all my FOs and SOs during the past 16 years for keeping me safe. Quick shout out to my mentors, Captains George Miller and Mike Healy. Must not forget the many ALPA men and women volunteers. I'm in debt for your family sacrifices and hours of service. I will miss the many friends I've made here 'enroute' God Bless." Knute Rosche
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MEM FIRST OFFICER NEEDS YOUR ASSISTANCE
Memphis 757 First Officer John Ohm has a family health issue that requires him to be home. We ask those of you qualified to operate in the right seat of the 757 to look at John's schedule and offer a PDO bump, if possible. Please consider this request to allow John the ability to better care for his family.
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DISPUTED PAIRINGS
INDUSTRY NEWS
ALPA Takes First Steps to Unionize WestJet December
January
None
None
Pilots But Warns of 'Fear-Mongering' Tactics by Management Pilots for Spirit Airlines and DHL Contract Carriers Picket for New Deals
Delta Pilots Union Elects New Leader FedEx: A Happy Holiday? AAWW Union Warns of Pilot Shortage as Judge Imposes ABX Injunction US Union Will 'Spare No Effort' to Block Flights Could a Lufthansa-Like Pilot Strike Happen in the US? Ask Hawaiian Air.
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