Here are the reasons our union gave. They sound like good ones to me.
- Accepting a position at Flexjet ahead of a furloughed Flight Options pilot who wants to work there undermines a basic union principle and causes an economic injury to a furloughed Flight Options pilot and their dependents.
- If you accept management?s offer of employment, your terms and conditions of employment at Flexjet are not guaranteed. You are an at will employee. Your wages, benefits and working conditions are subject to change from the moment you start working there.
- The Union cannot represent you at Flexjet. There is no legally binding grievance or arbitration procedure to protect you from unjust discipline or discharge. There is no contractual procedure for addressing training irregularities or check ride failures that could end up in your PRIA record. Management can change your rate of pay with or without notice to you, and even pay you less than a junior pilot in the same equipment and cockpit, which their pay plan suggests they intend to do. When you take a vacation from Flexjet, if ever, it is at management?s total discretion and sick leave policies are subject to change.
- You go to the bottom of the seniority list at Flexjet even if you are more senior than Flexjet pilots and Flight Options pilots and managers who are already working there. Importantly, your position on the Flexjet seniority list could affect your position on the integrated seniority list that will take effect when the two carriers are fully integrated. Flexjet is under no legal obligation to honor your seniority if you go to work there. That is true for purposes of furlough, recall, schedule bidding, vacations, and vacancies. The pay system set forth in the company?s offer makes clear that seniority is not controlling for Flight Options pilots who go to work there. When it comes to Flight Options pilots, Flexjet is free to change the seniority rules with or without notice to you and you have no legal recourse to challenge it.
- As a result of the close corporate relationship between OneSky, Flight Options and Flexjet, any employment or services contract offered to you by DW or any other representative of OneSky or the two carriers is unenforceable because you are already covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), including during any period of a leave from Fight Options pursuant to the CBA.
That's a very scary list, I surprised anyone would leave the protective IBT womb.