Citation Air are now Teamsters

[netjetwife]

..... I'm actually going from not liking unions to "I'm happy we have one". All due to management and investor attitude.

Far be it from me to say I told you so....

Seriously, CAL, I think that you're reading the writing on the wall very accurately. So who will be next...Flex or AvantAir?

Guesses anyone?

 

[rajflyboy]

Not a big fan of unions, never have been, but the more I think about it the more I believe unions will become a necessary evil in the very near future. With companies always looking to keep their investors happy by penny pinching their employees, and investors becoming more and more greedy (and ruthless), I believe unions will be making a comeback.

I'm actually going from not liking unions to "I'm happy we have one". All due to management and investor attitude.

Right on Brother

 

[Downwind]

Good luck. Make sure your scope is air tight.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[AftCG182]

Far be it from me to say I told you so....

Seriously, CAL, I think that you're reading the writing on the wall very accurately. So who will be next...Flex or Avantair?

Guesses anyone?

Please don't drag us into this. Best of luck to the CitationAir guys/gals.

 

[ProFracPilot]

Please don't drag us into this. Best of luck to the CitationAir guys/gals.

I love this, as if Avantair (or any pilot group) can be "dragged" into organizing. If it happens to your pilot group Aft, it happens from within. And as our (now former) VP of Flight Operations like to say at FlOps: "A company gets the union they deserve". Very prescient, that VP...

Congrats to CitationAir and welcome.

 

[netjetwife]

You may not be curious, Aft, but CAL's prediction does naturally beg the question. Now that non-unionized frac pilotgroups (2) are in the minority it's logical to wonder how long it will be before the count drops to 1.

I think it's great how frac pilots are able to set aside past disagreements and focus on getting a contract. It is noteworthy that even those in the minority... will wish a newly organized group success. And why not? History has shown that improvements in pay, benefits, work rules, scheduling, etc helps every pilotgroup in the industry...

Cheers for the Citation pilotgroup! And any others that may decide to join them in their pursuit of a fair and binding contract...:beer:


Good post, PFP! I especially like the welcome. It is a milestone for both 1108 groups....

 

[XTW]

Go away NJW. Your alter-ego is very annoying with your rah-rah-sis-boom-bah.

X

 

[AftCG182]

I love this, as if Avantair (or any pilot group) can be "dragged" into organizing. If it happens to your pilot group Aft, it happens from within... Congrats to CitationAir and welcome.

As usual, I'm clear as mud. Don't drag Avantair into this discussion. I'm fully aware that when a union is brought on property, it's by a majority vote.

 

[SpaceBall 1]

Second, you are correct, the CA pay, schedule, and some other terms of employment are much better than we have here at FLOPS. Before our CBA we were paid 40 percent less than the other jet frax, and had no scope protection or legally enforceable work rules of any kind. Now we are paid 30 percent less, but have those protections. Much less than we hoped for, but more than we had before.

So FLOPS still sucks....however, it sucks 10% less than the past. The fact the CA matched our pay in the past unfortunately held no water with 51% of our pilot group. Yes, changes to the pay scale and benefits for ALL employess have occured over the past two years. At the same time, we have been (still are) weathering the 2nd great depression.

I fail to see how FLOPS increase in pay will help us when their payscale is inferior to the CA payscale. During the whole union process, I asked many of our pilots if any of them would want to change places with an equivalent seniorty pilot at FLOPS. Guess what, no takers. However, 51% of my fellow CA pilots said they want the same union. Go figure...

Don't get me wrong, I want all of us making $1,000,000 flying 10 days a month, but that isn't realistic. I could have gotten behind an in-house orginazation, bot NOT the IBT!

This is going to be a tough road. The election didn't win by a huge majority by any stretch. And....those of us that didn't want it, still don't.

 

[Fresh Air]

SpaceBall, I agree with everything in your post, except IMHO life at flops is about 25% better since the CBA; 10 percent for the pay, and I'll allow another 15 percent for the rules and protections . Here's my point: The CBA improved life here for most of us, enough to make it well worth the hundred bucks per month dues.

You're right, our crappy pay won't help you at all in negotiations. Frankly, I don't expect your CBA to give you much of a pay raise if any at all, since you guys are already at or near industry standard. What a CBA WILL do for you is to keep your company from cutting your pay again, and put your scope protections and work rules in a legally enforceable document.

One last word of advice from one who's been through the process recently: Even if you're against the Union, hate it, and hate everyone involved in it, don't let it show to management. There's nothing management negotiators love to see more than a divided pilot group! Divided = weak, and showing weakness to the people on the other side of the negotiating table is a sure way to get a lousy contract that takes years and years to achieve.

Wishing you all the best of luck in the task ahead of you.