Flight Options loses more pilots to Gemini

[WrknStff]

That's the problem.

There just aren't too many greener pastures in aviation anymore. I think its time we dug in our heels and try to make where we are a better place instead of always bailing on the hopes of easy street.

 

[Voice Of Reason]

There just aren't too many greener pastures in aviation anymore. I think its time we dug in our heels and try to make where we are a better place instead of always bailing on the hopes of easy street.

I totally agree WrknStff! I would just want to be represented by a professional union that will make things better, especially after YEARS of "negotiating." I want dues that go to more than paying some thug to troll the boards all day and spread venom and scare tactics to try and get people to sign up.

 

[fogrunner]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I smell hijack!!![/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I post positive welcome aboard message to people who have successfully interviewed here. All you find to post is old, dated material. Remember this board was originally set up to pass on information on hiring and interview information.[/font]

So what did you do? Perhaps you did a Google search for Gemini FAA violations?

Well in the same time period, numerous National, Major and Global carriers received FAA fines and violations. My purpose here is not to throw mud. Gemini is not perfect, however, who is?


http://www.faa.gov/apa/PR/SAFETY/Safety98.cfm

I understand your pain, I worked for options for 5 years. The frustration seems endless. Who is going to represent you guys. Don't hold your breath for ALPA. With NJA gobbling up nearly 70% of the new owners for 04, I would be worried.

Perhaps you have talked to some of the ex-Options guys who work here. I know I have, and they are very happy with their decision.




Now for some positive news.............


[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Air cargo shipments up 13.4%[/font]
The International Air Transport Association said air cargo in 2004 increased 13.4 percent over year-ago levels, as global aviation enjoyed an across-the-board recovery.

"The traffic recovery in 2004 was phenomenal across all regions," said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of IATA.

International scheduled passenger traffic increased 15.3 percent.

Freight saw double-digit growth in all regions with Middle East carriers reporting the highest increases at 26.8 percent.

IATA forecasts an industry profit of $1.2 billion for 2005, based on stable fuel prices.

 

[Voice Of Reason]

"Perhaps you have talked to some of the ex-Options guys who work here. I know I have, and they are very happy with their decision."
Fogrunner

Of course they are, they just started! Who isn't elated when they start off with renewed "hope." That's exactly how everyone at FLOPS & NetJets started off.
No one is "Hijacking" the thread...I think it is pretty important to RESEARCH a company's background before touting it as the "coming savior." Companies don't change overnight, and the info I posted is not "old."

 

[Voice Of Reason]

"Since September Gemini has hired 10% of its new-hires from Flt Ops."

How many planes do they have (on the property: Meaning actual, not future speculation...remember the Envoys)?
How many pilots total have been hired since Sept?
(more research)

 

[fogrunner]

I'm sorry you are so bitter. When Falcon 50 check airman leave what does that tell you.

We have hired 50 new-hires since September. 5 have been from Flight Options. that is 10%. People without any form of representation and no protection vote with their feet.

Who is going to represent you? ALPA wont.

 

[Voice Of Reason]

Fogrunner, you are a trip. I am bitter for "looking before I leap" and putting resarch about Gemini?

I have completely agreed about representation...What union does GEMINI belong to? (more research) I am simply opposed to IBT

I repeat, re: IBT at NJA:
PILOTS are doing all the work...you just have an illusion of security "protecting" you. Kind of like the little kid on his bike for the first time without training wheels. He still thinks Daddy is holding on, and has the confidence to accomplish his task. Anything accomplished by NJA has been accomplish by PILOTS who are PAYING DUES to IBT, for the privelege of doing the work themselves. Flops needs representation, too...but not the kind found with the IBT. We'd like to add "feel treated like a professional by our company, (not seen as annoying blue collar labor) because we are represented as professionals by professionals. " THAT would be the addendum I look for.

 

[Voice Of Reason]

How many planes actually on the property, again? I can't seem to find where you answered that

 

[Voice Of Reason]

How Timely...IBT's other clients

Wal-Mart Wants Truckers to Have 16 Hour Workdays
By LESLIE MILLER, AP

WASHINGTON (March 9) - Wal-Mart and other retailers are lobbying Congress to extend the workday for truckers to 16 hours, something labor unions and safety advocates say would make roadways more dangerous for all drivers.

Rep. John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican whose district includes Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s headquarters in Bentonville, is sponsoring a bill that would allow a 16-hour workday as long as the trucker took an unpaid two-hour break. The proposal is expected to be offered as an amendment during debate over the highway spending bill on Wednesday.

"Truckers are pushing harder than ever to make their runs within the mandated timeframe,'' Boozman said. "Optional rest breaks will reduce driver layovers and improve both safety and efficiency.''

Current rules limit drivers' workdays to 14 hours, with only 11 consecutive hours of driving allowed, union leaders and safety advocates say. That gives truckers three hours to eat, rest or load and unload their trucks.

Critics of the proposal accuse Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, of trying to fatten its profits by forcing truckers to spend more time waiting at the loading dock without getting paid.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters "hasn't gotten one complaint from drivers saying they don't have time for a break or a meal,'' the union's vice president, John Murphy, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Joan Claybrook, president of the safety advocacy group Public Citizen, said drivers could end up starting their workday at 8 a.m. and quitting at midnight.

"This is a sweatshop-on-wheels amendment,'' Claybrook said. "The last thing we need is for tired truckers to become even more fatigued and threaten the safety of those around them on the roads.''

The current rule had been struck down in federal court because it didn't take into account truck drivers' health. In October, Congress reinstated the rule for one year. If the Boozman proposal is adopted, it would retain the 16-hour workday regardless of any new rule.

Nearly 5,000 people were killed in large truck crashes in 2003, and those vehicles were three times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than passenger cars, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Wal-Mart spokesman Erik Winborn said the proposal has broad support among the trucking industry and other retailers.

"We support it because we feel it would actually enhance safety rather than hurt safety,'' said Winborn, whose company employs about 7,000 truck drivers.

Wal-Mart employees were Boozman's top contributors in 2003-04, giving him $48,152 for his re-election campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Wal-Mart and its employees gave $44,500 to Boozman for his first successful bid for Congress in 2001-02, the last year corporations could give to congressional candidates.



03/09/05 06:24 EST

 

[fogrunner]

I smell hijack!!!
What does Walmart truck drivers have to do with flying DC-10s or MD-11s?




touting it as the "coming savior." Companies don't change overnight, and the info I posted is not "old."


How can you say this is not old...

Who said anything about Gemini being a Savior..



http://www.faa.gov/apa/PR/SAFETY/Safety98.cfm

FedEx is on the list, does this mean you are not going to apply there because of this. How about Northwest, they are on the list as well.

We are an ALPA carrier....

Seven DC-10s and four MD-11s..

We currently have contracts with Air Canada, Lufthansa, Lan Chile to name a few.

Gemini's Top-Notch Flight and Ground Crew

Gemini employees are regarded as a key success factor for the company, which is reflected in the company'shttp://www.geminiaircargo.com/images/AboutU5.jpg compensation and benefits plan. The company's flight crews have an average experience of 12 years in military and commercial backgrounds and Flight Engineers are required to be trained line mechanics and hold A&P licenses. Line maintenance personnel have an average experience of over 15 years on heavy jet aircraft. The company insists on having specially qualified cargo loadmasters supervise the preparation of the aircraft for every flight.

Gemini offers the ideal solution for the high frequency markets of the domestic integrated services community, as well as Transpacific, Transatlantic and Latin America operations for its international airline customers.



I enjoy working here. I like the guys I fly with. I am treated well by our Flight Operations folks. I am no longer considered a new-hire.

I flew for Options for 5 yrs. One year as a BJ Capt. and another 4 years as an CIII Capt.
Your management people simply do not care about their pilot group. Are things perfect at Gemini certainly not. You will find plenty of people on this board with opposing view points to mine, concerning Gemini.

I still don't see how your postings concerning the IBT and Walmart truck drivers has anything to do with the original post?

 

[JohnnyCash]

i guess i have missed some of the points. it sounds like (to me-of course) that some are happy with FO and others are not. some have went to Gem. and are happy.

maybe i don't get it. if you are not happy where you are and are happy elsewhere what is the point. if someone were with say Northwest and decided they wanted to move the family to Puerto rico and fly sight seeing flights and are happy--what's the point. i say good luck to both. from my unrelated position both companys seem pretty good--hear good things about both.

johnny

 

[Frac Daddy]

I smell hijack!!!
What does Walmart truck drivers have to do with flying DC-10s or MD-11s?




touting it as the "coming savior." Companies don't change overnight, and the info I posted is not "old."


How can you say this is not old...

Who said anything about Gemini being a Savior..



http://www.faa.gov/apa/PR/SAFETY/Safety98.cfm

FedEx is on the list, does this mean you are not going to apply there because of this. How about Northwest, they are on the list as well.

We are an ALPA carrier....

Seven DC-10s and four MD-11s..

We currently have contracts with Air Canada, Lufthansa, Lan Chile to name a few.

Gemini's Top-Notch Flight and Ground Crew

Gemini employees are regarded as a key success factor for the company, which is reflected in the company'shttp://www.geminiaircargo.com/images/AboutU5.jpg compensation and benefits plan. The company's flight crews have an average experience of 12 years in military and commercial backgrounds and Flight Engineers are required to be trained line mechanics and hold A&P licenses. Line maintenance personnel have an average experience of over 15 years on heavy jet aircraft. The company insists on having specially qualified cargo loadmasters supervise the preparation of the aircraft for every flight.

Gemini offers the ideal solution for the high frequency markets of the domestic integrated services community, as well as Transpacific, Transatlantic and Latin America operations for its international airline customers.



I enjoy working here. I like the guys I fly with. I am treated well by our Flight Operations folks. I am no longer considered a new-hire.

I flew for Options for 5 yrs. One year as a BJ Capt. and another 4 years as an CIII Capt.
Your management people simply do not care about their pilot group. Are things perfect at Gemini certainly not. You will find plenty of people on this board with opposing view points to mine, concerning Gemini.

I still don't see how your postings concerning the IBT and Walmart truck drivers has anything to do with the original post?

fogrunner,

Voice-of-Reason is one of two things: FLOPS management or one of Raytheon's union-busting lawyers. He is attacking you because you remind those of us still at FLOPS how crummy it is. No pilot I know that has left FLOPS ever regreted it. Not one.

Also, his reason for dredging up all this negative stuff about Gemini is to project the message:"See they're unionzed and it's not any better for them. So why do FLOPS pilots need one?"

He also brings up the "anybody but the IBT" argument. This is the classic "phantom union" tactic to divide the pilot group. The reality is that nobody else will represent FLOPS.

V.O.R's motives are transparent and pathetic. Anybody that actually flies the line at FLOPS knows we need a contract and the IBT and ASAP are our only suitors.

 

[fogrunner]

Thanks Frac,

My intention was to welcome more quality guys to the Gemini fold. Yes, I like it here at Gemini. It is rather humorous for a thread to go from DC-10s to Walmart truckers.

 

[joepilot111]

Senority Freeze

Any truth to the info that I got that Gemini has frozen everyone in thier current pay level?

 

[Voice Of Reason]

Expect more than a Walmart Truck Driver Does

fogrunner,

Voice-of-Reason is one of two things: FLOPS management or one of Raytheon's union-busting lawyers. He is attacking you because you remind those of us still at FLOPS how crummy it is.
V.O.R's motives are transparent and pathetic. Anybody that actually flies the line at FLOPS knows we need a contract and the IBT and ASAP are our only suitors.

OMG how pathetic that someone wants something better than the IBT and the IBT mafia swoops in with the standard accusations of "They're Management! Don't Listen". Some people can actually think for themselves, believe it or not. Sick. THAT's whats transparent and pathetic...Thou protestest too much and is projecting. If ever Flops makes someone SO miserable that they see the IBT as the only option, then yes, it IS time for them to leave. IBT is the LAZY (because it's "there") option, yet in the end, all of the work will be done by yourself.