More Reserve Issues

It's that time of year again! Family gatherings, holiday parties, Christmas shopping and my personal favorite...leveling! Once again, Crew Scheduling will be leveling reserves in record numbers in an effort to maintain the integrity of the monthly schedule. Most reserves in CLT have been through the holiday leveling season many, many times and are familiar with the system. However, there are new hire flight attendants who may need some help understanding the leveling process within the context of our agreement. Here are the DO's and DON'TS of leveling.
DO'S
Do ask Scheduling to split trips to protect your day(s) off.
What this means is if Scheduling calls you on  Wednesday with only 4-day trips and you are going off duty on Friday, ask the scheduler to split the trip. This is your right. (See page 11-17 lines 22-31 of the contract.) Please notify your LEC office if Scheduling refuses to split a trip for you. Please note that you must split off your trip at a flight attendant base in your own  base time zone and normal legalities must be observed. Should Scheduling be in the assignment mode, they can make you fly through your day(s) off.
Do pass for your day(s) off. Your leveling claim can be reduced if you pass a trip for a reason other than to protect your day(s) off. You do not have to accept the highest time trip offered.
DON'TS
DO NOT call in sick unless absolutely necessary. Please understand that if you call in sick, your leveling claim will be reduced by the amount of your sick claim. What this means is if you qualify to receive 30+00 hours of leveling claim and you call in sick for 3 days and claim 3+30 per day your leveling claim will be reduced by 10+30 (3days@3+30).
DO NOT receive a “no contact” after you have been leveled. Your leveling claim can be reduced by the amount of a trip you could have flown had the company contacted you.
Okay, you have been leveled and it is now the last day of the month and you did not make your time. Let's say you are on the non– option (85+00) and you want to put in a leveling claim to take you up to 90+00. Here are the steps you must take to receive your leveling claim.
Let us say you worked a 4 day trip November 1-4 worth 21+00 and a 4 day trip November 8-11 worth 22+00. Scheduling then leveled you from November 14 through November 23. You worked a 4 day trip November 25-28 worth 22+00 and a 2 day trip November 29-30 worth 10+00. You have a total of 75+00 worth of flight pay time. Try to look for a leveling claim worth at least 15+00. To do this you need to find out if a F/A junior to you flew a trip during your leveling period. Go to Catcrew and obtain screen #18– Trips Flown Junior. Choose a specific day during your leveling period, plug the date into Catcrew and the computer will search and find all the trips flown junior to you on that specific day. You decide to search for a 3 day departing on November 15. The computer gives you 5 different trips that departed on November 15, all of them worth more than 15+00, no problem. Since you can only claim a trip(s) for which you can legally fly, you would be able to claim any one of these trips. You decide to claim the 3 day on the F-100 worth 16+43. There is no need to find a trip worth exactly 15+00. Pay claims will pay you for up to 90+00 hours. The next step is to insure that you have completed the PE-39A in its entirety. Remember to include the junior F/A information who flew the trip.
HINTS
1. Claims can include actual or scheduled pay whichever is greater.
2. You can claim quick call.
3. You can claim a portion of a trip instead of the entire trip.
4. ”Leveling” does not occur until personal contact has been made (e.g. telephone, etc.)
5. A claim cannot be reduced if the F/A doesn't leave a list of trips as a result of flying a trip or on un-interrupted rest.
6. When assigned into day(s) off, the days that are “given back” should not be days during a subsequent leveling period.
7. You can claim trips missed—flown junior— that fall into day(s) off/on.

CALLING OUT OF TIME
As we all know, you may call out of time on the non-option at 80+01, 95 hour option at 90+01 and 105 option at 100+01. All F/A’s are pay protected on their last trip of the month. Should a reserve call out of time on his/her last trip of the month and irregular operations occurs and the reserve does not actually fly the amount of time needed to take him/her out of time, the reserve is time and pay protected. Should that same reserve then make himself/herself available at the end of the month and fly another trip in the same month, scheduling then has the right to not pay protect the trip the reserve originally used to call out of time.
It is not unusual for the company to request a meeting with reserve flight attendants for low pay hours (less than your minimum option hours). Should this happen to you, it is recommended that you speak to your local LEC representatives prior to meeting with your supervisor. You may also take an AFA representative with you to the meeting with your supervisor. Our current contract allows for reserves to pass for any type trip. It is impossible to illegally pass for a trip. Reserves are not blockholders and do not have a set line of time that they are responsible for flying each month. The Company argues that reserves are passing to much in order to acquire additional days off. Reserves are scheduled 11 days off each month. When a reserve passes for a trip, he/she does not then get the day off. The reserve is still on duty and could be called out on a trip by Daily at any time. The  Reserve can not drink alcoholic beverages or be more than 1+30 from the airport. Reserves are  on the property  to protect the airlines operation in the event of sick calls, bad weather, mechanical, irregular operations and left over trips from the bid sheet. Your Local officers are here to help you any way we can. We do care about your concerns. We will work hard to make sure F/A Scheduling does not violate anyone's contractual rights!!!!!