Ameristar, the new Schedule, and Ethics

[Loco Gringo]

The word is official, Ameristar's new schedule is 5 on, 2 off, plus every fourth weekend you have to work through Saturday and Sunday, making that week a 12 day straight stretch. This basically works out to 32 days more work per year, with no increase in pay or vacation to compensate. This is on top of already working more days per year for less pay then anyone of our other competitors.

I used to think Ameristar was a decent place to build your time and experience to move on to bigger and better things. I even recommend some friends of mine for jobs there. There are very few faster ways to build your turbine time, most importantly your turbine PIC time.

However, it turns out that the management there is completely unethical and treats the crews like they are indentured servants. Every pilot there is signed an eighteen month, non-prorated contract. The way the contract is written Ameristar could require you to work every day of the year and there would be no relief. There is basically an implied understanding about Ameristar's schedule and bases policy. To go and change the way things have been done for over a decade in one fell swoop is very unethical. Pilots have structured their lives around this implied understanding. Everyone who is commuting is in a very difficult situation, especially if they have families. Could you imagine having to tell your wife and kids that you in a few weeks you will have to move hundreds of miles, or you will only see them three days a month?

Even pilots that already live in their bases are getting treated badly. Crews get to pick their schedule for the entire year and many have bid particular groups in order to have certain days off. Now that is all completely thrown out the window. How wrong is it cause someone to miss a special event that they may have been planning all year for.

Now if that isn't enough, the schedule changes are not even the whole story. A couple of crew members have been downgraded from captain to first officer. This is legitimate, the amount of captains needed varies with the needs of the business. However, what is completely unethical is changing someones seat and pay, but then holding them to their contract they signed when they upgraded. Sure it is completely legal according to the contract, but is that the right way to treat your people?

So this is how if you work at Ameristar you are basically an indentured servant. If they were to just lay you off, at least you would be released from your training contract and be able to look for other work. However, lets say you quit because you want to see your kids and don't want a divorce, you are on the hook for $18k plus legal expenses. They could require that you work everyday of the year and it would be completely legal.

Ameristar pilots are some of the hardest working pilots in the business. They get the job done under tough conditions with poor equipment. To try to solve the companies problems on the backs of the 135 pilots is a terrible thing to do. What about new schedules for the 121 pilots? What about pay cuts for other departments? How about cleaning out some of the inept people in dispatch, crew scheduling, and maintenance? Ameristar already has the advantage of very low crew costs, if the company cannot make it on the original pay and schedule then there are other problems.

This is the time for Ameristar pilots to stand up and say enough is enough. Wether it be outright quiting, refusing trips (max safety), or calling in the teamsters, something must be done.

Not sure this schedule is going to work, they are increasing the commutes from 2 to 4 a month potentiality doubling the number of airline tickets. But we shall see.

 

[Loco Gringo]

It has been said that Compensation (with QOL issues too) is the only way to tell a good flight department from a bad one.

I would go farther.....ANY PLACE that requires a contract for training is a SCUM-BAG operation.

I wish you and your buddy's the best. Go get'em.

I wished everyone could leave at the end of their contracts. And, put them in the hurt locker.

Until we stand up....we will get treated like this from mgmt.

Of course never under-estimate a pilot's ability to take a bad job.

Peace.

honeycomb you have got to have better things to do than sit around posting to a stupid web site all day, my god man get a life!

There are no illusions at Ameristar especially the 135, will be nothing more than a place to build jet time it's on demand freight after all. The contracts came about because in the 90's FlexJet required a LearJet type so people bailed before the ink was dry. There were no contracts for FO's until FlexJet dropped the the Lear type, then they had people get a couple of hundred hours LearJet time then bail. I actually know people that were told by FlexJet to get a job at Ameristar to get some LearJet time so they could meet the mins.. So to keep from becoming the training dept. for FlexJet the fresh upgrades and new hires got contracts because of those that went before.

3 years is basically all they try to get out of a pilot, 12 to 18 as FO 18 as captain anything more is gravy, so your theory of leaving at the end of the contract to screw them just won't work. Besides where do you suggest they go.

 

[Loco Gringo]

PilotYIP,

Sir, I don't know you. I would venture a guess on a few things about you...but I will not go so far as to tell you I know you.

But, I do wish to tell you this.... you make me SICK everytime you post. You may have one to two posts I can agree with.

This hiring boom..... you are all over the place! And, you are everywhere saying how great things are going to be.

Though, you are a mgmt type.

Your profile says it all. You are an Amateur! And, nothing more Sir.

The rest of us Professionals (look up the difference in the dictionary) are tired (I for One am sick and tired) of your assualt on the pursuit of a PAY CHECK AND DAYS OFF in this profession!

Do me a favor the next time you don't like my post PM me Sir (and I use that term lightly).

I have refrained from any public comments but you have left me No other choice with your now public comments.

You sir would not know a quality job if it hit you over the head. So, I doubt you'll ever know.

I know PILOTYIP he is a pretty good sh1t

 

[Loco Gringo]

I hear the Teamsters have Ameristar set on their sights. Conditions like that are the reasons unions roll in. Hello, management!

non union USA JET and CHERRY AIR will kill you, or TW will just say screw it and shut down. You will never get a union in a right to work state like Texas, couple of years ago USA Jet failed in a heavy union state like Michigan.

The first to unionize will be in a world of hurt that is a fact!

 

[Loco Gringo]

Ummmmm..... hmmmmm.......

Well you smacktards took low paying jobs as pilots, signed an employement contract.....

RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG RED FLAG

And now yer all mad because you get paid crap and treated like a smacktard.

It is what it is. You knew what it was when you started.

BTW - Its not going to get better.

year 1 FO 35k
year 2 junior captain 55k
year 3 60k
year 4 65k pay frozen 9/11

before 9/11 there were several making 80-100k 4-5yrs seniority in the 135

 

[cherry20's]

Were all in this together now! I know that the 5 and 2 schedule is worse than the previous one. Ours at Cherry was kind of the same thing before we went to 5 and 2. In all honesty though, don't bite my head off, its not that bad. I actually enjoy having every weekend off. All the Cherry pilots always hang out every weekend because were on the same schedule. It gives us time to get drunk and become a tighter knit group. It might actually help the moral over at Ameristar. I don't know how the group is over there though. Its really going to be bad for the guys who commute and the weekend you have to work does suck. Best of luck to you guys and I hope for the best. At least there not laying off like USA Jet did last year. I heard that they were going to do it again! Some ramp rat told me that so I don't know the credibility. Do your time, get your PIC time and hit the ground running! I always look at it like this, it can't get much worse? Good Luck

 

[ACT700]

...
It is the company's fault not the pilots'.



Like I said Never Under-Estimate a Pilot and his/her ability to take a BAD Job!

How is that? It is the pilots fault, all the way. The only reason these companies impose these "contracts" is because we (the pilots) are willing (dumb enough?) to sign them.

It is because we have let it sink this low. Sure, everybody (with a different job, right now) is going to say, "No, not me. I would never do that." But I don't see Ameristar, or whomever, hurting for pilots right now.

There's always someone willing to do it cheaper...

 

[Paradoxus]

yeah, about that...

Some of you guys have the right idea about how to handle things at AJI. Others, well....let's just say that management gets away with half of their antics expressly because the 135 workforce is so pliable and quick to capitulate.

Bring some kind of union on property and show the bastards you mean business.

Yes, the CP will masterfully manipulate your perceptions and cause you to "think" he and the others are "fighting" for the pilots. They are, in fact, collaborators; and would in no way piss on you to put you out if you were on fire.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

Actually, last year, USA Jet cut everyone's pay about 25% and gave everyone about 25% more days off, instead of furloughing.

So, the Falcon guys had 13 days off every 28, and the -9 guys had 15 days off, until the pay came back to normal.

cliff
YIP

 

[Windsor]

Well with Ford making large cuts in production, I think our niche market of flying is heading for the crapper. It wont be long before the rest of the auto manufacturers follow suit.