Buffett Bites Back at NetJets Pilot Complaints

[Diesel]

No, not at all. Remember, I'm not a pilot, so I've already been paying a portion for some time now. And contrary to popular belief, I did not have to move to section 8 housing, sell my boat or my car, get a second job to make ends meet, or even switch to cocoa spheres instead of cocoa puffs. But it's all just a part of the dance you guys are in right now.

I forget what department you are in. Scheduling or dispatch?

you are correct, you are not a pilot. Any one of the 3000 pilots could walk into your job and have it figured out with a day or two ( conclusion: you pay for medical)....

I doubt many in your department could safely and correctly start an APU with the first day.(conclusion: pilots don't pay for medical)


Like it or not you are lower on the food chain.

What all you department types should realize... No matter how smart you think you all are with your meetings, grids, computers, emails etc.... No pilots, no company.. Planes don't fly by themselves or even with moonlighting 172 PPL Weekend warriors.

Wanna know why pilots tend to live in bigger houses, have better benefits and demand certain things...

Because they've earned it.

100 percent on target.

When I get the comment "must be nice" I always say you're more than welcome to go do this for a living.

I always hear an excuse, yet they want to be treated the same as the pilots.

Sorry not going to happen. Just like me paying for medical is not going to happen.

 

[Mooneymite]

Aircraft are incredibly expensive, but can make an owner a lot of money. However, if an aircraft does not fly, it is an incredibly expensive asset to maintain without any off-setting income.

The difference between an airplane and a paperweight is.....a pilot.

It appears that management needs a periodic reminder of this truth.

 

[msculley6905]

I forget what department you are in. Scheduling or dispatch?

you are correct, you are not a pilot. Any one of the 3000 pilots could walk into your job and have it figured out with a day or two ( conclusion: you pay for medical)....

I doubt many in your department could safely and correctly start an APU with the first day.(conclusion: pilots don't pay for medical)


Like it or not you are lower on the food chain.

What all you department types should realize... No matter how smart you think you all are with your meetings, grids, computers, emails etc.... No pilots, no company.. Planes don't fly by themselves or even with moonlighting 172 PPL Weekend warriors.

Wanna know why pilots tend to live in bigger houses, have better benefits and demand certain things...

Because they've earned it.

I know my role thank you very much. I know the pilot group is an integral cog that makes this place run. I know a pilot is and should be paid more than I. Please tell me more about what I don't know.

 

[FamilyGuy]

I forget what department you are in. Scheduling or dispatch?

you are correct, you are not a pilot. Any one of the 3000 pilots could walk into your job and have it figured out with a day or two ( conclusion: you pay for medical)....

I doubt many in your department could safely and correctly start an APU with the first day.(conclusion: pilots don't pay for medical)


Like it or not you are lower on the food chain.

What all you department types should realize... No matter how smart you think you all are with your meetings, grids, computers, emails etc.... No pilots, no company.. Planes don't fly by themselves or even with moonlighting 172 PPL Weekend warriors.

Wanna know why pilots tend to live in bigger houses, have better benefits and demand certain things...

Because they've earned it.

While I currently support the unionized employees in their negotiations with NetJets, it's arrogant and condescending statements like this that make it hard to do so.

You would be well served to put the attitude away and develop some humility. You are exhibiting the same attitude and demeanor to your fellow employees that Jordan is exhibiting towards the employees. You need allies in this fight, not more enemies.
　

100 percent on target.

When I get the comment "must be nice" I always say you're more than welcome to go do this for a living.

I always hear an excuse, yet they want to be treated the same as the pilots.

Sorry not going to happen. Just like me paying for medical is not going to happen.

This is one area of the negotiations where you are seriously misguided.

Almost everyone in the US now pays for a portion of their health care expenses. Under Obamacare, the NetJets healthcare plan is classified as a cadillac plan and will be subject to additional taxes because it is so generous.

You are advocating that NetJets pay these additional taxes to the government so you can continue to get your gold plated health plan?

I don't know about you, but I personally hate paying more taxes than I have to.

With that in mind, if I were in your shoes, I'd be advocating for a position where the union modifies its health plan to avoid the additional taxes under obamacare and then redirecting the dollars saved on the health care plan to other non taxable benefits for the members. It would be neutral to NetJets and beneficial to the members.

Sticking your head in the sand and saying I will never pay for healthcare reminds me of the auto unions who refused to recognize economic realities until their company filed for bankruptcy.

 

[T-1GUY]

So we should follow all the other lemmings??? The job I had prior to Netjets had us pay a portion of the insurance bill. Funny, every year that bill went up about 25%, and yet I couldn't even get a COLA raise from the crying poor company. I prefer the status quo on insurance. I would rather see parked airplanes than give on this issue. I would also expect a huge raise, more vacation time, and limits on duty days. Your line about auto unions and bankruptcy is nothing but a crock of sh$t. I don't put bolts on a tire all day long, day after day. I fly airplanes. It is a highly technical skill that takes decades and huge amounts of cash to get to the level of competency that Netjets and it's clients demand.

 

[imacdog]

I do not care what extra taxes the company has to pay. I will be compensated what my skills and experience are worth.

 

[FamilyGuy]

So we should follow all the other lemmings??? The job I had prior to Netjets had us pay a portion of the insurance bill. Funny, every year that bill went up about 25%, and yet I couldn't even get a COLA raise from the crying poor company. I prefer the status quo on insurance. I would rather see parked airplanes than give on this issue. I would also expect a huge raise, more vacation time, and limits on duty days. Your line about auto unions and bankruptcy is nothing but a crock of sh$t. I don't put bolts on a tire all day long, day after day. I fly airplanes. It is a highly technical skill that takes decades and huge amounts of cash to get to the level of competency that Netjets and it's clients demand.

Great attitude. You should lead with that and put it on the picket signs at the next event. I'm sure it will strike just the right chord.

Yes, you have a skill set, and a more advanced one than some other people, but it is still just a skill set, and you shouldn't be denigrating other people's contribution to the finished product. Much like you wouldn't want me flying the plane, we probably wouldn't want you fixing the planes, or doing the scheduling or the accounting. Everyone contributes their own unique skill set and the finished product is better with everyone focusing on their specialty.

That said, companies focus their resources on solving the biggest, most intransigent and expensive problems. Automation is coming for many professions and I'm amazed at how far drones and self driving cars have come in the last ten years. They aren't ready for prime time yet, but I'm willing to bet they will in my lifetime.

 

[FamilyGuy]

I do not care what extra taxes the company has to pay. I will be compensated what my skills and experience are worth.

You should care what extra taxes the company has to pay, just like you've been concerned when the company wasted money in the past. Every dollar that the company spends on something else is one less dollar in profits and one less dollar that can be distributed to the different stakeholders.

And restructuring the health plan to avoid extra taxes from the government doesn't mean those dollars are lost to you and the other employees. Just negotiate and have them reallocated to another form of benefit.

Do you think the bankers stop cutting deals because the government raised the capital gains tax rate? No - they simply find another way to restructure the deal and get their money. You should follow the example and roll with it rather than trying to fight the tide.

 

[jmreii]

Sounds like a fredex thread just get the employee groups fighting and then divide and conquer. Now march to Rome darn it!

 

[imacdog]

No really, I have no intention to give concession to a company that is so profitable. WB endorsed Obama, he can pay the Obamacare taxes personally for all I care.

 

[pilotyip]

It is a highly technical skill that takes decades and huge amounts of cash to get to the level of competency that Netjets and it's clients demand.

You spent huges amounts of money? T-37,T-38, C-130. Me thinks, like me, you made a fair amount of money while learning to fly.

 

[SCT]

Yip, I was wondering about that statement, too. It takes "decades" to have enough hours to fly for NJ? Come on.....

 

[pilotyip]

Yip, I was wondering about that statement, too. It takes "decades" to have enough hours to fly for NJ? Come on.....

Yea I know guys who came to USA Jet with 500 hours and a COMM/ME/INS. They flew aged out airplanes for 1/2 of a decade (5 years) made decent money, got a TJ type rating and an ATP at no cost to them then got hired at NJ

 

[T-1GUY]

You spent huges amounts of money? T-37,T-38, C-130. Me thinks, like me, you made a fair amount of money while learning to fly.

The airplanes on my profile are generic for a reason. I hold dozens of other types. I don't feel the need to put down everything I have flown over the past thirty years.

The price I gave was blood, two wars, and over a decade going wherever Uncle Sam wanted me at his whim to defend this country 24/7 365 days a week.

I stand by the assertion that it takes decades to acquire the skill set. I have probably given over three hundred checkrides in multi-engine jet airplanes. Thousands of hours instructing in jets and simulators. I'm still learning and will never know it all. Like they say, it's a license to learn.

Any basic ATP with 1500 hours can fly point A to B. It's when the ******************** hits the fan you get what you pay for. Hopefully the experience in the left seat will hold it together, unfortunately I see a brain drain leaving Netjets.

In no way am I trying to disparage other jobs or professions. I had plenty of school friends working at the local GM factory for $40 an hour to put that bolt on a new car. Like I said, day in, day out. I can also tell you any trained monkey could do the work. You are comparing apples to oranges.

 

[CA1900]

Perhaps the reporter and their readers do not feel that is an important question to ask, since the vast, vast majority of working people pay a share of their healthcare.

As do the Netjets pilots. Just because it's not a line item on our pay stub doesn't mean we aren't paying for it. We negotiated full medical in lieu of a substantially higher salary number.