Union

[Smoke]

Has anyone ever started a union at their work? I am getting tired of the crap at my work and thinking about trying to organize? Any suggestions?

 

[crjdxr]

Has anyone ever started a union at their work? I am getting tired of the crap at my work and thinking about trying to organize? Any suggestions?

Vote with your feet, if possible.

 

[ShutupandFly]

Has anyone ever started a union at their work? I am getting tired of the crap at my work and thinking about trying to organize? Any suggestions?

Don't do it. A union was voted in to my office over two years ago and all it has brought us is a pay freeze and a lot of hard feelings. You really need to understand what you are bringing into your office and your life when look at bringing in a union. You will probably find out after the union is in that they will not even address most of the complaints you have.

If you are really unhappy where you are at It would be much better for everyone involved if you just tried another office. You might find out the place you just left wasn't so bad after all.

 

[pilotyip]

up to four years

Don't do it. A union was voted in to my office over two years ago and all it has brought us is a pay freeze and a lot of hard feelings. You really need to understand what you are bringing into your office and your life when look at bringing in a union. You will probably find out after the union is in that they will not even address most of the complaints you have.

If you are really unhappy where you are at It would be much better for everyone involved if you just tried another office. You might find out the place you just left wasn't so bad after all.

Company can drag out negations for up to four years, during that time nothing changes, no change in pay working conditions, or benefits. Somewhere around three years it will go to arbitration and then maybe delayed for another year. How big is the company? Unions need a certain size to be interest in going through the expense of organizing. Is it a career position? you are probably better foot voting with your feet. Enough pilots do that it will normally get managements attention.

 

[Andy Neill]

Here is a description of the process from the National Mediation Board website:
http://www.nmb.gov/representation/rapply.html

On 23 Mar this year the TWU was certified to represent the dispatchers at PSA. (8 out of 12)
http://www.nmb.gov/representation/deter2007/34n023.pdf
On 3 Nov 2005. the TWU was certified to represent the dispatchers at Ryan Air (7 of 8)
http://www.nmb.gov/representation/deter2006/33n003.pdf
On Aug 10 2005, TWU was certified to represnt the dispatchers at Pinnacle. (17 of 33)
http://www.nmb.gov/representation/deter2005/32n039.pdf

 

[405]

Has anyone ever started a union at their work? I am getting tired of the crap at my work and thinking about trying to organize? Any suggestions?

What kind of "crap" are you talking about? Be careful in thinking a union is the solution to all of the problems at your office. If you do decide to organize a drive and it gets voted in, be prepared for a LONG road to a contract. Also, later on if you and/or your coworkers decide the union wasn't exactly what you were expecting it to be, it's almost impossible to get them out.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Don't do it. A union was voted in to my office over two years ago and all it has brought us is a pay freeze and a lot of hard feelings. You really need to understand what you are bringing into your office and your life when look at bringing in a union. You will probably find out after the union is in that they will not even address most of the complaints you have.

If you are really unhappy where you are at It would be much better for everyone involved if you just tried another office. You might find out the place you just left wasn't so bad after all.

It would have probably been more successful if the thoughts were like this....



Don't do it. A union was voted in to my office over two years ago and all it has brought us is a pay freeze and a lot of hard feelings. WE really need to understand what WE are bringing into our office and our life when WE look at bringing in a union. WE will probably find out after the union is in that they will not even address most of the complaints WE have.

If WE are really unhappy where WE are at, It would be much better for everyone involved if WE just tried another office. WE might find out the place WE just left wasn't so bad after all.


Then again ......resigning your self to your terrorist be saying..it really isn't so bad... is kinda weak...

 

[Jungle_Jet]

Uh, how about going and getting a better job? What happened to that solution?

Put down Marx and Engels, my friend. Just ask UAW workers.

 

[SKC]

On 3 Nov 2005. the TWU was certified to represent the dispatchers at Ryan Air (7 of 8)
http://www.nmb.gov/representation/deter2006/33n003.pdf

It doesn't really matter, but Ryan Air is in Dublin, Ireland. Ryan International is represented by TWU.

FYI, the vote was in Nov 2005, and the contract was signed in late spring of this year, if I heard correctly.

 

[Andy Neill]

It doesn't really matter, but Ryan Air is in Dublin, Ireland. Ryan International is represented by TWU.

FYI, the vote was in Nov 2005, and the contract was signed in late spring of this year, if I heard correctly.

Thanks for that correction and sorry I can't edit it.

I also appreciate the update on the contract. I was wondering what the status was at the other two listed (PSA and Pinnacle).

 

[Smoke]

What kind of "crap" are you talking about? Be careful in thinking a union is the solution to all of the problems at your office. If you do decide to organize a drive and it gets voted in, be prepared for a LONG road to a contract. Also, later on if you and/or your coworkers decide the union wasn't exactly what you were expecting it to be, it's almost impossible to get them out.

The biggest thing is not getting paid for the overtime that we work. We have brought it up to management and they pretty much said sorry about your luck, we dont want to rock the boat. It is just crap like that that makes a lot of people here hate their job.

 

[ShutupandFly]

It would have probably been more successful if the thoughts were like this....



Don't do it. A union was voted in to my office over two years ago and all it has brought us is a pay freeze and a lot of hard feelings. WE really need to understand what WE are bringing into our office and our life when WE look at bringing in a union. WE will probably find out after the union is in that they will not even address most of the complaints WE have.

If WE are really unhappy where WE are at, It would be much better for everyone involved if WE just tried another office. WE might find out the place WE just left wasn't so bad after all.


Then again ......resigning your self to your terrorist be saying..it really isn't so bad... is kinda weak...

I Don't work at HIS office, and it sounds like he has never worked at a union shop before. I am however getting tired of you pilot union chearleaders telling us poor stupid dispatcher that everyone in aviation needs to be paying into a union.

 

[Smoke]

Company can drag out negations for up to four years, during that time nothing changes, no change in pay working conditions, or benefits. Somewhere around three years it will go to arbitration and then maybe delayed for another year. How big is the company? Unions need a certain size to be interest in going through the expense of organizing. Is it a career position? you are probably better foot voting with your feet. Enough pilots do that it will normally get managements attention.

The company has about 4000 employees, but our department would include about 75 employees. The problem is that I really like where I live and this is the only real aviation job in the area. I would have to travel to work a grat distance, or get out of the industry....neither of which I really want to do.

 

[ShutupandFly]

The company has about 4000 employees, but our department would include about 75 employees. The problem is that I really like where I live and this is the only real aviation job in the area. I would have to travel to work a grat distance, or get out of the industry....neither of which I really want to do.

Just be sure you understand what a union can and cannot do before you let them get there claws in you. It really sucks to go a couple of years without a raise and end up with a TA that looks alot like the employee handbook you were working with before.

BTW. our first TA quite a few of us would have taken a pay cut. Still waiting for the new TA.

 

[Smoke]

Just be sure you understand what a union can and cannot do before you let them get there claws in you. It really sucks to go a couple of years without a raise and end up with a TA that looks alot like the employee handbook you were working with before.

BTW. our first TA quite a few of us would have taken a pay cut. Still waiting for the new TA.

What union do you have?

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

I Don't work at HIS office, and it sounds like he has never worked at a union shop before. I am however getting tired of you pilot union chearleaders telling us poor stupid dispatcher that everyone in aviation needs to be paying into a union.

I never thought stupid at all...

The dispatchers where I work are pretty good....

 

[405]

I never thought stupid at all...

The dispatchers where I work are pretty good....

C'mon Rez. You know what Shutupandfly was saying. How many TWU pilots do we have running around out there? I would say there's not that many ALPA dispatchers either. You're comparing apples and oranges. A pilot and a dispatcher have totally different jobs and work rules. We have a COMMON GOAL but any pilot's argument for dispatchers having a union is completely irrelevant.

 

[dispatchguy]

Stay non-union.

I run the Will Dispatch for Food website (see signature), and nearly every TWU-represented office has a pay scale that is lower (on average) than the overall pay scale for that airline segment.

I have on my website a dispatch office pay comparison, including overall averages of TWU-represented offices. For the large carriers that are TWU-represented, the average deficit from average that a TWU-represented dispatcher gets is about $4800 - in other words, if the industry segment average is $35000, the TWU-represented dispatcher is only getting $30000 and change on an average basis.

About the only good thing coming out of a union shop is protection. When I was at EGF over 9/11, all of us Carribbean dispatchers got caught in a pissing match between the Chief Pilot and the POI, and the union was able to defend all of us as a group.

But, I would look EXTREMELY CLOSELY as to whether making your shop a union shop would fix anything, at least a TWU-represented shop.

 

[hoover]

Has anyone ever started a union at their work? I am getting tired of the crap at my work and thinking about trying to organize? Any suggestions?

You need to give a name to your pain. Saying that you are "tired of the crap at my work" is meaningless. What exactly is going on that you do not like? You need to identify these things, and then give serious consideration as to whether or not a union can "solve" those problems. In my experience, the problems that people vote unions in to solve, are not problems with the company. They are problems with the industry, or with the unrealistic expectations of the worker. Don't expect to vote yes and then magically all your problems disappear. Some might, but they'll just be replaced with new ones.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

C'mon Rez. You know what Shutupandfly was saying. How many TWU pilots do we have running around out there? I would say there's not that many ALPA dispatchers either. You're comparing apples and oranges. A pilot and a dispatcher have totally different jobs and work rules. We have a COMMON GOAL but any pilot's argument for dispatchers having a union is completely irrelevant.

And yet.... someone is asking about it...