Corporate and the Reserves?

[LJDRVR]

From what others have posted here, it sounds like too many corporate departments are very interested in drilling reservists.

My last flying job was corporate; I am ex-military (non-flyer), and I am appalled by what my fellow pilots have reported here.

Corporations that can afford multi-million dollar bizjets have benefitted from the protection provided by the US military (including Guard and Reserves) more than any other segment of society. The least they can do, and I do mean the very least; is hire some good people who happen to be Guard/Reservists. I'm not talking going overboard like United did with the gender thing in the 90's; just some reasonable consideration.

Phrogboy; sounds like you have the message you need but didn't want. I suggest an airline or company whose support of the troops goes beyond bumper-sticker patriotism.

C

Shack

I'm not dialed into the realities of the better corporate gigs out there, but it seems to me somebody has to have their act together with this stuff. For what it's worth, the airlines will treat you great. We want our employees to serve their country. If I have to take up the slack and work harder, then I'm happy to do it. Our management is commited to our employees who serve their country.

Somebody has to have a good story here...

 

[AA717driver]

SoundBar--You can sue to get time off. You can't sue to make them keep you the first time you cross the invisible line set by the chief pilot. AND, once you sue, you'll be marked for life in corporate (and probably the airline world, too).

We're trying to give this guy a heads up on how to make things work in corporate. Like we've said, it "can" work. It most probably "won't" work.

Airlines are far better suited for this situation.TC

 

[SoundBarViolatr]

That would be an unlawful termination or discrimination. The federal government is HOT on this issue and will persue employers for violating the law.

USERRA is administered by the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), a division of the United States Department of Labor. The Act and subsequent statutes make it unlawful for employers to discriminate or retaliate against you because you served in the military. Additionally, they protect your employment rights and benefits while you're serving.
In a nutshell, USERRA

• Minimizes disadvantages when you must take leave from civilian employment for military duty
• Protects your rights and benefits, by clarifying the law and improving enforcement
• Provides you with Department of Labor assistance in processing and settling claims against an employer who violates the laws
• Expands the cumulative length of time that you may be absent from work for military duty, and still retain reemployment rights and certain employer-provided benefits

Depending on conditions of employment, benefits protected under USERRA include

• Vacation
• Promotion
• Pay and raises
• Pension
• Medical and health insurance
• Family and medical leave

For more information about your employment rights and benefits under USERRA, see Frequently Asked Questions for Reservists Called to Active Duty provided by the Department of Labor.

To answer your question from my corner, yes, it can be balanced and I have been able to do it in the past 5 years with the 2 employers I have had. I have had to use some of my regular days off to do currency items at the Squadron but the bulk of my Reserve duty was done under Military Leave status.

You can do it the nice way; which requires a certain degree of support from your employer, or the firm way with the law behind you. To a degree, I agree with our friend. You do not want to stir the pot in such a small industry. Naturally, the bigger the company, the better equipped they will be to support any manning challenges from an activated reservist. But that's why the Chief Pilot gets paid the big bucks... You have a much broader scope as a Citizen Airman. You maybe able to help ease the blow by giving them as much heads up as you can on UTAs, Annuals or activations.

Personally, I question a company that does not support the troops. Most of these people have never lifted a finger in service to our country so they will never understand -- to them you are just another bean count. Paradigm into their own world they will never see nor understand how much you mean to their own security.

Maybe its the 14 years of continuing military service or the fact that I am just patriotic, but for me, I want to be able to look at my children at the end of the day and tell them that I stood ground and did the right thing.

 

[Flyerjosh]

SoundBar,

I agree that you have the right to sue and that the JAG will back you up to the fullest extent possible. But when you're interviewing for a flying job and you're the only candidate with military experience, it's hard to gather ammo. Particularly if the company can show that they are a supporter of the reserves through their non-flying employees. Remember, most corporate operators, do employ reservists- just not in the flight department.

A recruiter can come up with plenty of reasons why you weren't hired, and they certainly aren't going to say "because you're a reservist". Something like we didn't think he was the best qualified, or there was a discrepancy with the paperwork, or we just didn't hit it off in the interview, or we didn't like the professional image. Heck, they can say "we didn't like the tie he was wearing" and probably get away with it. It an uphill battle that you will fight and most likely lose.

The fact is that most flight departments can't afford to spend extravagant money on staffing improperly. That means minimum staffing. Reserve commitments affect that bottom line. They also introduce an big variable- what happens when you deploy? In this day and age it's almost inevitable. I was deployed federally twice in my 9 year guard career (I worked for the airlines at the time).

Unlike the typical guard/reservist, it costs a bit more to retrain a replacement employee, and often requires a lot more time. Unfortunately, most flight departments can't afford to justify these costs (whether or not it's appropriate or politically correct is another matter entirely).

Like I said before, I think you will find that most companies that are large enough for flight departments do actually support the guard/reserve- just not in their flight departments. I think that there's more than just "bumper sticker" support.

That said, I do know of two corporate flight departments that have employed reservists successfully. The one thing that they had in common was that they were both fortune 500 companies, both had more than three planes, and employed at least 20 or more pilots, with no more than one or two active reservists.

As a general rule, the larger the flight department, the more reservists a company can accommodate the scheduling issues.

 

[SoundBarViolatr]

I was fortunate enough to look at this from a charter's management point of view as a Deputy Chief Pilot at one of the leading charter company in CA. I understand the extras involved in hiring a reservist. Interviewing for a position and identifying yourself as a Reservist may very well put you in a disposition. As a candidate, it would be to idiotic to threaten them with the law, whereas someone that is already in the company will have all room to manuever as I previously stated.

I suppose when it comes down to it, the questions you want to ask yourself is 1) how far the outfit will go to support their troops and 2) how far you would go to find out. And if you do, you have every moral and legal backbone to bring to the fight.

 

[Phrogboy]

Good advice by everyone. Soundbar, I appreciate the encouragement and motivation. But it does appear that the writing is on the wall and trying to break into corporate as I am, the last thing I want to do is make waves from the get go. I have been told to not bring up my reserve commitments in the interview, but I can not see how this is possible. Honesty is always the best way to win people over, and not revealing my reserve commitments would be quite a bomb to drop after I was hired on.

I want to continue flying with the reserves, but unless I find a job that is willing to work with me as much as I am willing to work with and for them, then it appears that IRR may be on my horizon.

As for going 121.... how can I bring myself to do that after reading all the great posts on this board!! No, I am sold on corp and feel it will be well worth the effort.

Speaking of which, any gouge floating around out there about a Fortune 500 company looking for a dual-rated pilot???? Anyone?

 

[GVFlyer]

I think you just have to find companies with corporate philosphies that value pilots possessing the character to serve their country.

At one time the Chief Demo Pilot at Gulfstream Aerospace was a Naval Reservist drilling at Andrews AFB as were two other Demo pilots. One Demo pilot was flying F-18's out of JAX.

At Proctor & Gamble the last Chief Pilot was an Army Brigadier General in the National Guard (he is presently a line Captain, at P&G the CP job rotates).

At Ford, one of their line captains was a reserve Air Force Major General with an active duty mobilization billet at Scott AFB. At the completion of a Ford trip a C-21 would pick him up and fly him to his desk at Scott.

3M is known for employing National Guard members.

GV






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