A buddy of mine at Flight Options says he heard that the company wants to leave the pilot pay scale exactly as it is, but bring back the Senior Flight Officer program. This would: 1.) Ensure that the majority of line pilots at Flops would continue to be the lowest paid in the industry for the duration of the contract, and 2.) Reward those who would rat out their fellow pilots to management for extra pay. I hope this isn't true.
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Kenn Ricci Wants to Bring Back SFO Program
- Thread starter petebest
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Frac Cap
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The Senior Flight Officer program, A.K.A. the union buster. The origin of the program I was told, was to keep the union out. Because a select few at the top that were well taken care of, would never vote the union in.
Well, the union is here, and the SFO program is a dead concept because the only pilots that are left are all senior flight officers.
Well, the union is here, and the SFO program is a dead concept because the only pilots that are left are all senior flight officers.
It is on the table. Remember this is a RAT program, nothing more.
ProFracPilot
What's it doing now?
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- May 1, 2003
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Of course it is on the table. It is now one more line item in the economics portion of the negotiations - in favor of the company. If WE don't want the program, then WE'LL have to be willing to negotiate it out. What are WE willing to give up in exchange for taking it off the table? This is just another negotiating tactic, much the same as taking away our 401(k) match and making us negotiate to get it back.
from what I hear Ricci is working very hard to get rid of the union..Even going as far as shutting the company down for a day and reopening up under a different name. much like his friend Pinkas did with Jet Direct. (Yes I know Jet direct did not have a union)..But he got out of paying and rehiring any employess he wanted to and all court judgements by doing that.
waka
Emasculating the Right
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Unless he's going to hire and have a bunch of pilots trained prior to doing so, this will be way more than a one day shutdown. Even if he goes this route, the newly hired pilots will have to undergo IOE and most of the current Check Airmen will not do IOE's with these replacements knowing that FLOPS pilots are on the street....not to mention that the line pilots will start grounding airplanes as soon as word of these IOE's spreads.
Otherwise, if Ricci thinks that FLOPS' current pilot group will just go along with a shutdown, name change and continue as if nothing happened the next day, he's got a big surprise coming....the least of which being pissed off owners due to the ensuing mass of write-ups and sick calls.
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Yes that will sell some shares. Let's take this fight to the public forum and see how well flops weathers that storm. Time for the good will gestures the pilots have displayed to vaporize. This is an aviation management company, the koolaide drinkers need to figure out that it takes PILOTS to run the business. Time to shut this beast down for good.
EX_CV580FR8Dawg
De Oppresso Liber
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- 651
Man I feel for those that are left at that $hithole. I was there for a short time before getting furloughed and can't be happier.. .good luck dealing with the new/old/new savior.... RICCI, what a scumbag- A$$HOLE
SFOs.. enjoy flying your touched-up RJ. Afterall, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still an RJ!
p.s. you know how i will be casting my vote!
SFOs.. enjoy flying your touched-up RJ. Afterall, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still an RJ!
p.s. you know how i will be casting my vote!
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Sorry calling you out. Where did you get this info? Do you honestly think flops could close its doors and open the next day??? Furthermore, who gives a sh!t? We made our choice. The union is here and if Ricci closes down tomorrow, then we went down fighting. We are sick and tired of being the lowest paid and we will not be bullied by management. If they think they can do better, then they can either fly the jets themselves or hire some two hundred hour wonders. We are done with this sh!t and with these bullsh!t union busting posts... OH and B19, kiss my ASS.
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Ricci always said he wanted the SFO's back. I guess he is anxious to get back to Aspen with the boys. The nice thing is we are represented by the Teamsters, if there is language in the contract you disagree with, just vote no. I highly doubt our MEC would allow the SFO's back in the same capacity as before.
SilverSurfer
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Didn't they also get a nifty 5 stripes? What were the bennies of the SFO program?
Extra pay. They also got their health insurance paid for (I think) and got stroked a $100,000.00 check when they retired. AND they were taught a secret handshake.
PS---- In the history of unions, a company has never successfully shut down for a day and reopened under a different name. This would be unprecendented. I'm going back to the sidelines now.
gunfyter
Well-known member
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In the history of unions. But isn't that what Pinkas is doing with Jet Direct (albeit with no union)?
Excerpts From Ricci's Book
Excerpts from Management by Trust by Kenn Ricci. Bold text = Emphasis added
SFO program.
“What we sought to develop was a program that allowed a comfortable – but not too comfortable – environment for committed employees. In other words, we simply wanted to under-compensate those who were there merely to build flying time and experience so they could move on to the job they really wanted, and overcompensate those who were committed.”…
“We developed a two-tier pay and benefits program. The basic concept was to pay those in the committed tier – we called them Senior Flight Officers – above average and the rest of our pilots below average…”
”How did we determine which employees should be Senior Flight Officers? We couldn’t simply ask them. We were smart enough to realize no employee would deny being committed to the organization. Nor did we want to establish a “suck up to management program,” with everybody competing to flatter his boss. The fundamental goal of our organization was to build a trust environment. Someone who was committed to the organization would have to be able to trust and would have to be trusted in return. Furthermore, he would have to be able to outwardly express his commitment.”…
“Senior Flight Officer candidates applied in writing. The act of sitting down and writing in and of itself indicated a certain commitment (this process doesn’t just happen effortlessly). More important, the letters were tremendously revealing about a candidate’s intentions and goals.”…
“Next came an interview with a team of Senior Flight Officers (a jury of their peers, so to speak) as well as the candidate’s immediate supervisor and one member of upper management. First and foremost, the team looked for indications of whether the applicant understood the open and trusting environment we were trying to create: Would the applicant try to perpetuate that environment and was the applicant open and honest? As you may imagine, these reviews were not brief. You don’t assess honesty and openness quickly. Reviews usually included sensitive questions, as this was the only way to determine whether the applicant was determined to be guarded in his approach or was truly go to be open. We also wanted to ascertain whether the applicant felt open and trusting enough to criticize the organization. An ability to do so and to “name names” in the process was seen as an indication of an ability to trust.”…
“Whether the application was approved or rejected, we wanted the letter to build trust. It included arrears where the employee needed improvement, followed by reinforcement and praise for things the applicant was doing right – “trust deeds.”…
“Our employees understood that Senior Flight Officer was an exclusive ranking. Since it was difficult to pass the test the first time around, repeat applications were another indication that an employee was serious about being committed and that we were, in fact building trust. It became clear that some employees would never become Senior Flight Officers. These cases, while disappointing to everyone, also built trust.”…
“Not every employee is destined to be a life-long committed employee..”…
“We made a big deal of people approved as Senior Flight Officers. A special striping on their uniforms indicated their status. We posted their names prominently around the company, where their coworkers were sure to see. They were included in discussions of major company issues, given stock options, and treated as important stakeholders and contributors to the organization.”…
“Top players discipline each other, attend to the slackers, and raise the level of performance of everyone around them.”…
Excerpts from Management by Trust by Kenn Ricci. Bold text = Emphasis added
SFO program.
“What we sought to develop was a program that allowed a comfortable – but not too comfortable – environment for committed employees. In other words, we simply wanted to under-compensate those who were there merely to build flying time and experience so they could move on to the job they really wanted, and overcompensate those who were committed.”…
“We developed a two-tier pay and benefits program. The basic concept was to pay those in the committed tier – we called them Senior Flight Officers – above average and the rest of our pilots below average…”
”How did we determine which employees should be Senior Flight Officers? We couldn’t simply ask them. We were smart enough to realize no employee would deny being committed to the organization. Nor did we want to establish a “suck up to management program,” with everybody competing to flatter his boss. The fundamental goal of our organization was to build a trust environment. Someone who was committed to the organization would have to be able to trust and would have to be trusted in return. Furthermore, he would have to be able to outwardly express his commitment.”…
“Senior Flight Officer candidates applied in writing. The act of sitting down and writing in and of itself indicated a certain commitment (this process doesn’t just happen effortlessly). More important, the letters were tremendously revealing about a candidate’s intentions and goals.”…
“Next came an interview with a team of Senior Flight Officers (a jury of their peers, so to speak) as well as the candidate’s immediate supervisor and one member of upper management. First and foremost, the team looked for indications of whether the applicant understood the open and trusting environment we were trying to create: Would the applicant try to perpetuate that environment and was the applicant open and honest? As you may imagine, these reviews were not brief. You don’t assess honesty and openness quickly. Reviews usually included sensitive questions, as this was the only way to determine whether the applicant was determined to be guarded in his approach or was truly go to be open. We also wanted to ascertain whether the applicant felt open and trusting enough to criticize the organization. An ability to do so and to “name names” in the process was seen as an indication of an ability to trust.”…
“Whether the application was approved or rejected, we wanted the letter to build trust. It included arrears where the employee needed improvement, followed by reinforcement and praise for things the applicant was doing right – “trust deeds.”…
“Our employees understood that Senior Flight Officer was an exclusive ranking. Since it was difficult to pass the test the first time around, repeat applications were another indication that an employee was serious about being committed and that we were, in fact building trust. It became clear that some employees would never become Senior Flight Officers. These cases, while disappointing to everyone, also built trust.”…
“Not every employee is destined to be a life-long committed employee..”…
“We made a big deal of people approved as Senior Flight Officers. A special striping on their uniforms indicated their status. We posted their names prominently around the company, where their coworkers were sure to see. They were included in discussions of major company issues, given stock options, and treated as important stakeholders and contributors to the organization.”…
“Top players discipline each other, attend to the slackers, and raise the level of performance of everyone around them.”…
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It appears that is EXACTLY what he is doing. We have a mediator involved now, which means both Teamsters National AND the government are also involved. Think about the consequences of such an obvious anti-union action. Like I said....... UNPRECEDENTED.
Rat Squad
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So Kenn wants to set up a “two – tier” pay system that “overcompensates those who were committed.”
And in order to demonstrate that you are “committed”, you have to pass an interview and we are told an ability to “ ‘name names’ in the process was seen as an indication of an ability to trust.” Name which names? Trust who?
I think I understand Kenn’s concept of “trust”. It’s not so much about if management can be trusted (Management by Trust), but if the pilot can be trusted to “name names”, answer “sensitive questions”, rat out the “slackers”, and sell out for stock options and be gullible enough to believe management counts you as a “stakeholder”.
As if anyone ever trusted a member of the SFO secret police. No one trusted these characters. Management knew they were for sale as rats and the pilots avoided them like the plague. They even had “special striping on their uniforms”, kind of like the Gestapo so we could identify them and be sure to toe the line in their presence.
I think if Uncle Kenn tricks us into this program, he will regret it. I am familiar with what Cops unions do to I.A.B. punks.
If this is the kind of us v/s them system he has in mind, its gonna be a wild ride.
----------------------------------------------------
So Kenn wants to set up a “two – tier” pay system that “overcompensates those who were committed.”
And in order to demonstrate that you are “committed”, you have to pass an interview and we are told an ability to “ ‘name names’ in the process was seen as an indication of an ability to trust.” Name which names? Trust who?
I think I understand Kenn’s concept of “trust”. It’s not so much about if management can be trusted (Management by Trust), but if the pilot can be trusted to “name names”, answer “sensitive questions”, rat out the “slackers”, and sell out for stock options and be gullible enough to believe management counts you as a “stakeholder”.
As if anyone ever trusted a member of the SFO secret police. No one trusted these characters. Management knew they were for sale as rats and the pilots avoided them like the plague. They even had “special striping on their uniforms”, kind of like the Gestapo so we could identify them and be sure to toe the line in their presence.
I think if Uncle Kenn tricks us into this program, he will regret it. I am familiar with what Cops unions do to I.A.B. punks.
If this is the kind of us v/s them system he has in mind, its gonna be a wild ride.
mabelkitty
Member
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2007
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- 13
If I had applied and I was denied the position of SFO, I'd want to know, in writing the criteria for such a position to make a determination that this wasn't set-up to discriminate against people. I mean, FO isn't the most diverse company in business, but to add so arbitrary reward systems is just ridiculous in this day and age of employment litigation. I would not be shocked if they'd been sued for this practice previously.
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