Farquaad fiddled while OneSky burned

[Mach94]

Bottom line is that Ricci out-smarted the Union this time. He figured out the perfect bait to sink the Union on greed. By demanding that pilots who voluntarily separate should have the right to come back (defeats the purpose of a VSP) and putting an injunction to stop him from paying the furloughed pilots the VSP - THE SAME VSP BOTH THE UNION PRESIDENT AND THE FLIGHT OPTIONS MEC PRESIDENT BEGGED OPTIONS MANAGEMENT TO DO IN TWO SEPARATE LETTERS, the decertification vote is certain now. It is only a matter of waiting for the NMB timer to run out.

There isn't a single furloughed pilot that will support the Union now when the eventual decertification vote happens. Think about that, now. How close was the vote last time? The same amount of votes that this furlough is affecting, that's how many. Not only will every single furloughed pilot, who now, thanks to the Union, has lost $50,000 to $70,000 but gained a furlough number and therefore a vote for 7 years since the Union wants to take away their VSP will vote FOR the decertification, but the Union also lost a good 20% of the Flexjet fence sitters who voted yes on the vote just to see what happens, because they just realized that the Union does not look out for the bottom of the list, and the Union would rather ruin the lives of furloughed pilots to "prove a point" to management.

And now, with SLI in court for who knows how long, why on earth would any Flexjet pilot want a Union to fold Flight Options' dead-end, going out of business pilots into their growing company's list? They won't. They will, of course, vote YES in a decertification vote, you can bet your ass.

Solidarity was weak and barely had a heart beat before this Union snafu.

The union should have left the furloughees alone and only fought for an injunction for other than the furloughed pilots. But they didn't and demanded something NO company in their right mind would do: to force the company to offer a year SEVERANCE but with the right to come back. Idiotic, unreasonable demand. Fatal move. It will cost the 1108 everything. They just killed what was left of the weak-ass solidarity they ever had. And cost all those furloughed pilots, all who will take a 50% or more pay cut going to a regional if they're lucky, $50,000 to $70,000, because they are mad at Ricci.

If you work at FLOPS and haven't got your resume out, you'd better. Decertification is an eventuality, now. JCBA or not. And everyone knows another, larger amount of layoffs are coming at Flops. FLOPS pilot group will be half the size it is today by next summer, if it exists at all. Now it will be extremely easy for Ricci to run the charter business into the ground and just close the doors declaring the company insolvent. And now, thanks to 1108's leadership, if the Union wins in court over this VSP, none of the furloughees get a VSP they could have got.

Yes, Ricci used the furlough pilots as pawns, but he plaid a brilliant game and the Union does not even know they are in check-mate already.

 

[doh]

1 post wonder! Phildo? Is that you? When we prevail in court, all the furloughed will be recalled to their rightful place on the combined list. And we will have an industry standard contract to come back to. Management here has played themselves into a corner by breaking federal labor law.

 

[Mach94]

Some of the furloughed pilots are furloughed for the third time. You really think they will want to come back? No. They all want the VSP and will say good bye and good riddance forever to the sinking ship Flight Options.

Do some research. There is legal precedence on VSP's. The Union more than likely will lose on trying to stop the VSP. But if they do win and take it from the furloughed pilots... see my post above, that's the crystal ball. They will win taking the VSP from the pilots who need it most, and it will cost them their Union. Probably will regardless of the outcome now as it sank what solidarity there was at Flex as they can now truly see what the Union has done to this pilot group. First they beg the company to give the furloughed pilots the VSP just as they did to Flex. That was obviously a ruse, because the Company did give it to not just the furloughed pilots but offered it to everyone, and then the Union files an injunction. Very dishonest move on the Union's part, and the Union's reasons for doing so, "no negotiating", is BS. The company doesn't have to negotiate a VSP. They were doing it "out of the kindness of their hearts" (Ricci's masterful play) and the Union fell for it, hook line and sinker. Game over. No matter what, the Union will decertify. The Union didn't have the solidarity to throw away any votes, and they just threw away not only the furloughed pilot votes but many, many more at Flexjet. Add those to the FoK's already at both companies. Now add in the pro-Union pilots who up to this point fully supported the Union and now have realized what they have done. The math doesn't lie. If there was a vote today, you know what it would be. The NMB clock for decertification is ticking. Even if arbitration gets us a JCBA, and we all know it won't be anywhere near a Netjets contract, it won't stop that clock. And Ricci knows it. He will continue to delay, delay, delay, and stick everything he can in Court. Tick tock. Tick tock.

Check Mate.

Ricci is laughing, as the Union is now the ones who painted themselves into a corner for once and there is nothing short of a check for $70k that will win those furloughed pilot votes now. It wasn't worth it. A lot of hard work thrown away by the Union going too far, this time and pissed every bit of it away.

 

[Bjtdrvr]

Actually it will show flexers just how crocked Kenn is. Do you really want to work for someone like that without a contract? That is udder stupidity. Everyone in business has a contract! I sign a contract to have my roof fixed! I sign a contract to have my home inspected for termites! I sign a contract for virtually every area of my life! Why? Because it is smart business!!!!! Everytime you purchase something and get a receipt it is s type of contract!!!! Kenn requires contracts in all of HIS business dealings!! Are we any different? Why should he even care? That is the way businesses are run! It is money out of our pockets not his!!! If all of the flexers take their vsp then that is 40 or so most likely no votes. Then you have the furloughed guys. They already know that they are pawns in this game and they were just sacrificed by Kenn in his run to try and defeat the Union vote. I think they will see the truth of the matter because this is not their first rodeo with him! All of this decertification banter is just that! Of course everyone in CGF was sure that the Union would be voted out too? How did that work out for him? Apparently not as he hoped! And was so sure about!

 

[Mach94]

Uh, did you see the vote results? 49% of pilots were willing to work without a contract before the Union F'd up on this. You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise on the outcome of this now. The Union does NOT have 51% support anymore. And when the decertification vote happens, I will be sure to bump this thread and remind you. The Union got greedy and went too far on trying to bully Ricci into negotiating. It was the last straw, and I have no doubt the Union will suffer the same fate Flight Options will be facing in the next 12 to 24 months. Death.

And evil Ricci wins. He will have solely Flexjet without a Union on his property. Just as he always wanted.

Check Mate.

 

[993_Pilot]

... And evil Ricci wins. He will have solely Flexjet without a Union on his property. Just as he always wanted.

Check Mate.

Be careful what you wish for.... or break out your knee pads, because that will be the only way to get ahead if the union is voted out.

 

[doh]

Fellas, check his post count. Troll account of some kind.

 

[Mach94]

Be careful what you wish for.... or break out your knee pads, because that will be the only way to get ahead if the union is voted out.

Troll? No.

Just remember why you're on your knees when it happens and YOU are groveling for your job - Because the Union got greedy and tried to bully Ricci on the VSP, and lost the Union by doing so by using the furloughs as pawns, falling for Ricci's trap.

And don't mistake me as a FoK troll. I was never an FoK. Still am not an FoK. I can't stand Ricci. I am just furious the Union would throw everything away like they did. We have lost the weak solidarity we had by alienating those who needed that VSP the most and showing the high percentage of FLexjet fence sitters what they needed to see to make up their minds, and decertification is now inevitable. We have lost. Everything. But it's OK, "we showed him who's boss!" Just like many times before at other places, the Union will have bullied itself right out of existence. But we showed him!

 

[Praetorian]

He's angry and sad because he got furlowed again. The fact that he's dealing with it by buying a new account on here to try to make the rest of us feel bad is disturbing. I guess he needs to lash out at someone and his fellow pilots are close at hand.

I can only take comfort in the fact that his understanding of the legal facts surrounding this situation are incomplete at best. He seems to be projecting his own selfish motives onto the union.

Whoever you are, I invite you to bring this to the VUH. We can have a nice little chat about it there, might even straighten you out about a few things.

 

[Mach94]

The presumptions are hilarious. First I'm assumed to be PD. Then I'm accused of being a FoK troll, and now you assume I am furloughed simply because I am not a Union lemming who blindly follows leadership even when they make horrendous mistakes. That's part of the problem as I see it. LH and EV are running a dictatorship and if you go against their thoughts you get chastised and ostracized. And of course, predictably, I get "invited" to take it to the VuH to begin the chastisement and ostracizing process.

You miss the point completely obviously. This isn't about pilots who are furloughed. This is about what the Union was willing to give up to prove a point, and what that has cost all of us. They are no different than KR is, and it is we, the people who will all be out of a job, because those in leadership do not know how to bend or are not smart enough to know when they go too far, and obviously have no problems sacrificing peoples' jobs to simply make a point. On both sides of this war. It's despicable. And this time, they went too far. And they are too stupid to see they got played and Ricci got what he wanted, the majority of pilots not supporting the Union.

Am I furloughed? No, not yet. But I know I will be soon. And yes, I'm F'ing PISSED at the Union for what they did to those who are furloughed, many of whom are personal friends of mine and I know seriously will need that money, and of course those about to be in the next wave of furloughs. And I challenge you to find a furloughed pilot who doesn't feel the same way I mentioned in my original post.