FLOPS Strike ballots are being sent out !!!

[o2bflyn]

1. I accept your apology.

2. As for the economics of changing the traditional stance of the way that unions deal with management, I’ll leave that up to the union leadership.

3. I will henceforth not use the word SCAB in the context that someone is knowingly or unknowingly flying struck work. I’ll let the union decide the definition of scab. However, I will not change my personal definition of struck work.

Thank you and everyone else for the civility that still comes through, even in a heated discussion.

Once again, my opinions are my own.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck with this. I really wish you guys/gals get the contract you deserve.

 

[onetimer]

First of all: ED? Who?
Second, I don't think any "junior executives" fly on company airplanes for family vacations. Just how do you define a junior executive anyway?
Finally, I'm still puzzled about this "Ed" thing and that I have some pay to give back.
Senior leadership may be self serving, but it's their company. Their personal investment. I seriously doubt they would abuse it to the point of breaking - or even abuse it at all. What would you do in their position?

You know what this is all about dont LIE you PM me about this, did you ride the short bus to school as a kid. The family trip by Chuck S. and his family to Jackson Hole and back to ACK..you must think were a bunch of dumb A$$es.

By the way I JUST VOTED YES...because HELL YEA was not listed!!!

 

[dime line]

It sounds like he was either (a) smart enough to negotiate a higher level of compensation or (b) knew the right people and exploited his advantage.

I wouldn't consider this "dirty laundry." This is something people should try to emulate rather than denounce. You are fighting for better pay? Well, "Ed" has managed to pull it off and now you're mad at him. Go figure.

Ed shouldn't even be flying an airplane, let alone still work at FLOPS!

 

[mxpilot2]

I'm glad I got out of Options when I did....all the choices would have been very difficult, and I don't envy any of what you all have been through.

I would say, however, that to brand any other pilot a "scab" for flying their airplanes, for their company, for whoever books it, is asking way too much of a much beleaguered (sp) industry. I further don't think the "stink" will "stick" to any that do either.

No charter business should have to turn down business and endanger it's well-being to support your gripe with your company. No pilot "friends" should be put in that position either- "You're flying an Options customer. Don't do it, or we'll mark you as a scab." No friend of mine would do it, and I wouldn't do it for a friend. He wouldn't be one if he put me in that position.

You can't expect the whole industry to support your cause by killing themselves (business-wise). The only outside support you might reasonably hope for would be from other businesses that have your union's support, that serve Options' needs. If they want to take that path, it's up to them.

Take the moral support that will be with you from the majority of them and hope that your leadership can make headway with management. I do wish you the best and that you get what you need to make your future better.

Regards,
Chris

 

[acpilot]

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.

Not only would ANY self respecting charter company take the trip (and the money), they would do their best to convert that passenger to a regular customer.

 

[bartttman]

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.

I couldn't agree more with your post. It's naive of anyone to think that charter pilots are going to throw themselves on their swords for 1108 pilots. Best response I have read yet to Turbo's attempt to label unsuspecting charter pilots as scabs. Get real!

Turbo posted the same intimidating "struck work" remarks on the charter thread. The response has been overwhelmingly negative and only serves to hurt the cause of Flight Options pilots among the community of charter pilots.

And if anyone cares, I worked for Options for 8 years and was a union member in good standing from day one. Good luck to all.

 

[glasspilot]

Okay...but the Korean kids are still scabs, right?


Down with Nike...?

 

[shanes123]

Okay...but the Korean kids are still scabs, right?


Down with Nike...?

of course they are.and the dog is too..and if you live next door to a guy that has a friend that knows a guy thats a scab..that makes you one too..This whole thread has gone to sh*t with the idiot posts..why dont you just all turn it over to skanza a b19..speaking of b19..did ricci fire him? havent heard a word from him lately..we all know who he is..I guess that makes us all scabs..

 

[ultrarunner]

If the struck company is arranging the flight, because their own plane is grounded by a strike, then that is in my opinion struck work.

That may be the case Turbo, but ultimately, your MEC will define "struck work" or they may choose not to. Read my response to your post on the 135 board.

And in any event, no one at a charter outfit is really going to care, IMO. And it is completely unrealistic to even THINK a charter pilot is going to refuse a trip, and put their job on the line, because of some job action at some other company. And in the end, there is no recourse anyway.

I don't do charter, but we're capable. If I get a request by FLOPS to fly one of their customers during your strike, and its slow time for our ops, and it's a good trip, I'll likely fly it. It's that simply. And my decision is going to be based on strictly selfish reasons, and NOT because you're walking some line somewhere.

I won't loose a lick of sleep over it either. What the heck is the FLOPS MEC gonna do, put me on some meaning list somewhere buried on the internet? Go ahead. BFD! Really!

My responsibility to to my employer. End of discussion.

Remember, FLOPS Mgt is already two steps ahead of you. They have already made the calls to line up lift in the event you do walk. I don't think you will, but if you do, life will go on, and your customers are still going to get to where they need to go over the holidays and in the manner they are accustomed. You can count on that!

Good luck.

 

[mitsdriver]

Ultrarunner said it best. The job of any employee at any company is to put their company's interest first. While many, if not most, of us are in support of FLOPS pilots' efforts, don't think for a moment that those of us who do not work for FLOPS are going to put FLOPS' interest before our respective company's. To do so would be unprofessional and be grounds for dismissal, and rightfully so.

And as Bartttman correctly points out, this effort by a misguided few is going to be counterproductive to the union's overall efforts. No one's going to respond positively to such threats and intimidation. If you want to drum up support from outsiders, there's ways to do it. And this isn't one of them.

My responsibility and obligation is to the firm that signs my paycheck. And last time I checked, it isn't FLOPS or its union. So don't be offended when I work for the benefit of my employer. That is simply my job.

Good luck to all.