FLOPS Strike ballots are being sent out !!!

[TurboHonda]

I fly for a company that flies charter, and has in the past flown selloffs for Flops. IMHO, if there is a strike, and Flight Options brokers a trip for one of their customers, that would be a problem! However, if an independent customer comes to us regardless of whether he is a Flops owner/card member, I don't see any issue with accepting his business. (how would we know he's a Flops customer anyway?) As someone has already said, if an airline strikes there is nothing preventing the consumer from walking down the counter to the next airline to buy a seat. The customer is not owned by anyone, or in anyway limited to using one provider exclusively. To suggest otherwise seems short sighted, self serving and ultimately irrelevant.

I'm certainly willing to entertain intelligent differing viewpoints though.

Good luck guys. I hope it never becomes an issue.

I agree totally.

 

[GhettoBeechjet]

AIN info

Flight Options Pilots Vote on Strike Authorization
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Teamsters Local 1108, the union representing some 500 pilots at fractional provider Flight Options, yesterday announced a strike-authorization vote as final sessions of mediated negotiations nears. “Local 1108 is ready to make a fair agreement with Flight Options management,” said Mat Slinghoff, pilot-union president. “A fair agreement requires industry-standard scope protections, benefit security and compensation increases.” The union and Flight Options management have been in negotiations on an initial contract since June 2006, three months after the union was voted in. The parties met last week at National Mediation Board (NMB) offices in Washington to try to reach agreement on remaining compensation, benefit and work-rule issues, without success. The federal mediator subsequently scheduled a final bargaining session for late next month. If these final mediated sessions also fail, then the NMB can offer voluntary binding arbitration. If either party rejects arbitration, a 30-day cooling period starts, after which the pilots are free to strike. Strike-authorization ballots, which have been mailed to the union’s membership, will be counted on October 19. Flight Options said it presented a “comprehensive” proposal to the union last week and is awaiting a counter proposal. In the meantime, the company and pilot union will hold nine non-mediated sessions before the final NMB negotiations start on October 26[/FONT]

 

[o2bflyn]

FLOPS most likely will try to charter out some of their trips. They will have to supplement their management pilots and in-house scabs somehow. Therefore, charter pilots, and the company they work for, will have some soul searching to do.

The most obvious situation would be a charter pilot looks at his trip sheet and sees that FLOPS is the customer. FLOPS is on strike. If he does the trip, he is flying struck work and is a SCAB.

The not so obvious situation is the trip sheet shows the customer to be a broker, such as Sentient. The pilot learns, by whatever means, that the real customer is FLOPS. FLOPS is on strike. If he does the trip, he is flying struck work and is a SCAB.

The least obvious is the pilot doesn’t know the ultimate customer is FLOPS and does the trip. He is still flying struck work and his company made him a SCAB.

I see your point, but I can't really say I agree with your definition. The charter pilot in question would not be working for FLOPS rather he/she would be working for his/her charter company. Basically, by your definition I should tuned down all charter trips from Phillip-Morris Corporation because smoking causes cancer.

Let me offer this twist of logic to you. 1108 strikes......FLOPS selloffs a lot of flights and pays a premium to do so. Therefore they are bleeding more money at a faster rate. They would run out of whatever cash researve they may have and would probably be willing to negotiate 1108 contract quicker.....or they go out of business. Basically, what you are defining as SCAB work would actually stregthen your negotiating position.

Look, I don't condone SCAB work. I am very much in favor of 1108 getting a fair contract. I just ask you (the "general" you) to keep one thing in mind when terms like "struck work" and "SCAB" are thrown around with charter pilots in mind. You (1108) will not be able to get Captain John Smith from ABC Charter his job back when your contract is resloved.

 

[TurboHonda]

FLOPS most likely will try to charter out some of their trips. They will have to supplement their management pilots and in-house scabs somehow. Therefore, charter pilots, and the company they work for, will have some soul searching to do.

The most obvious situation would be a charter pilot looks at his trip sheet and sees that FLOPS is the customer. FLOPS is on strike. If he does the trip, he is flying struck work and is a SCAB.

The not so obvious situation is the trip sheet shows the customer to be a broker, such as Sentient. The pilot learns, by whatever means, that the real customer is FLOPS. FLOPS is on strike. If he does the trip, he is flying struck work and is a SCAB.

The least obvious is the pilot doesn’t know the ultimate customer is FLOPS and does the trip. He is still flying struck work and his company made him a SCAB.

I should have put two statements in the comments.

1. In my opinion
2. I don’t speak for the union or any other union member.

Do other pilots feel the same way? Probably.
Will they tell you? Maybe not.

 

[lookin4better]

So if AA goes on strike and the passengers are re-booked on every other airline out there, the pilots on these other airlines are now SCABs?

Long shot bro... but you miss the mark by quite a bit.

I wont lose a wink of sleep over it.... count on it.

I do wish you guys luck, but I dont work for FLOPS... and if I did I would honor the picket line and not fly a FLOPS airplane...

But the example above will be the rule, not the exception.... the passengers are re-booked... its not my problem... and never will be... go ahead and make a little list..... it will hurt no one.

 

[highnpressurizd]

Never flown 121, never flown for a union shop so I might be wrong. I always thought a "scab" was someone who crossed a picket line. I don't see any charter pilot out there being a scab unless they became a FLOPS pilot and flew while 1108 was on strike. IMHO, I think the term "scab" is used too loosely these days. By all means guys, ask for support from your fellow aviators and ask them to avoid flying your work if you think that will help. But, as long as they don't cross the line, don't label someone something their not just because they don't support your position.

Disclaimer: Not a charter pilot, just one of many with a useless opinion.

 

[NJAowner]

I own a NetJets share. I have a card with another frax (not FLOPs). I have it because I am happy with the service and safety and the terms are more in my favor for what I need than a Marquis card. Theoretically, if my card pilots went on strike, do some of you say that my NJ pilots should research me to see if I own another card (which happens to be in a corporate name other than my NJ share) or share, to determine if I am struck work? You guys are stretching this waaaaaaaaaaaay too far. For example, if FLOPS is struck and pays for the flight it is struck work. If I use more than I supplier for services (which we do in many areas) it is not struck work.

Fly safe. And pay attention to your families and hobbies so you have some other life than beat this struck work issue to death.

 

[mitsdriver]

I should have put two statements in the comments.

1. In my opinion
2. I don’t speak for the union or any other union member.

Do other pilots feel the same way? Probably.
Will they tell you? Maybe not.

Turbo. I support what FLOPS pilots are trying to accomplish and I wish them nothing but the best. However, your thoughts on scabs are completely off into the la-la-land.

Are you suggesting that charter pilots now have a responsibility to investegate their trip sheet to determine whether they're flying any FLOPS clients? How do you propose they do this? Search online? Make phone calls? Ask pax directly? And if they do discover that they're doing a FLOPS trip, what should be done about it? Tell the pax to get off? Call the office and say they can't accept the trip because of FLOPS deal? How do you think that'll go over? Remember that trips are assigned by the company and not chosen by the crew.

Furthermore, if a charter pilot does go to the bat for you and do refuse such trips, as you demand, he/she most likely will get fired for it. Remember that most of these charter pilots are non-union and therefore are not protected. Will you and your union then come to his/her aid, provide benefits, and help out with job placement and such? When FLOPS pilots do get a better contract, will those charter pilots who stuck their necks out for you get a piece of the pie? No? Why not? Because they're not one of you? Yet you're demanding that they go into the battle on your behalf at significant risk to themselves? What gives?

As mentioned before, a scab in this case is someone who takes a job at FLOPS and flys FLOPS airplanes while there's a strike at FLOPS. Charter pilots are employed by their respective companies and flys its own airplanes. They're NOT taking any jobs away from any FLOPS pilot and are NOT scabs. Neither are any mechanic, linemen, FBO customer service rep, caterer, ATC controller, kid with a lemonade stand, and his/her dog who interacts or does business with FLOPS.

 

[CALRepublic]

FLOPS most likely will try to charter out some of their trips. They will have to supplement their management pilots and in-house scabs somehow. Therefore, charter pilots, and the company they work for, will have some soul searching to do.

The most obvious situation would be a charter pilot looks at his trip sheet and sees that FLOPS is the customer. FLOPS is on strike. If he does the trip, he is flying struck work and is a SCAB.

The not so obvious situation is the trip sheet shows the customer to be a broker, such as Sentient. The pilot learns, by whatever means, that the real customer is FLOPS. FLOPS is on strike. If he does the trip, he is flying struck work and is a SCAB.

The least obvious is the pilot doesn’t know the ultimate customer is FLOPS and does the trip. He is still flying struck work and his company made him a SCAB.

I try not to post on this forum anymore, I haven't posted anything in several months, too much flaming going on, but I have to for this...

You're WRONG.....you're asking everyone else stop competing because your company is going on strike.. that is so selfish is not even funny. Then you're calling corporate piltos SCABS?? are you f%$#*ng kidding me??? those guys don't belong to unions, they have nothing to do with unions, they want nothing to do unions... they're a whole different animal, they're barely hanging on to their jobs, they don't even know if they'd have a job tomorrow and yoou want them to join the FLOPS cause......if I was flying for a mall charter company I'd come on here and tell you to F**** off

You want support from the NJASAP?? if/when we furlough, should we expect any suppport from FLOPS???.

 

[HSDriver]

Way too far...

This is getting way out of hand. Keep it simple. The scabs will be the pilots that cross the line to fly flops passengers in a flops plane. They are the ones that will have to do the soul searching. Not Joe Charter Pilot that has no clue who he is flying. Not the FBO lineman that fuels the Flops Plane, not the chick at the counter that swipes the credit card. That whole notion is ridiculous. The struck work is the seat in the cockpit of a flops plane. Its simple to me.

The one group that really has some thinking to do is the current flop pilots on furlough that will be called to fly the line when the sheeot hits the fan.