Kenn Ricci Is Not The Problem

[MOMOMOJO]

It's not the time to be silent. A little information we need to all consider.

From a trusted source:

- all of the 604 flight attendants are being fired

- the manager who called to inform the crews of the decision admitted because the FA's don't have a CBA they can do whatever they want

- same manager also told them we are severely understaffed and delaying 350 deliveries because we can't staff them (so much for the Red Label waiting list)

- despite all the spin we are having a hard time getting qualified candidates and are losing pilots faster than we can hire and definitely faster than we can train

And the most concerning:

- some pilots are being given random casual assurances no matter what happens, because they sent in a card they will be protected. How does management know who sent in cards? Or are they fishing for reactions to gauge who did and who didn't? Why would a pilot believe such an assurance when the mention of it breaks the law? That's like hiring a child molester to babysit.

Something about this drive if off. Something about this management team is off. I respect the fact Mr. Ricci provides me a job and signs my paycheck but it seems there is more to worry about than Mr. Ricci's word. He runs a huge multinational corporation. He will not always have the time to be so personally invested in the details of Flexjet.

I'm sorry but I will not trust the rest of my career to the whims of a very unprofessional and disjointed management system without a union. Once Mr. Ricci steps in to fire or correct bad management, who knows who might be in charge tommorow. We all complain to each other on the road about the constant barrage of fractious communication, the rolling 10/24's, the crew rots, the exploitation of the contract. Management flaunts it simply to blame on the union but we are the ones getting hurt in the bitter fight.

Regardless of the lack of progress on negotiations, right now it looks 100% the only side actively hurting us is management.

I will be voting to keep the union we have. It might not be perfect but in a way we are the ones to blame for it's weakness. How can we vote to get rid of them when we never really gave them a shot?

 

[EnFuego]

Was there anyone who didn't think frank would turn over the names of everyone who signed a card to management? He has been keeping them in the loop and they have been giving him our personal contact info since day one. I know several new hires who received cards before they were out of indoc.

And yes, the FAs are all gone as of April 15. One of the jims was calling 604 pilots to do damage control. He told us "come on, you all knew this was coming". What happened to Rick's famous "guys, nothing is going to change!"

 

[Dooker]

Man, that sucks. That was my old fleet and it's sad to see those gals kicked to the curb. Sad, but not surprising.

What is surprising is the number of people I flew with back in the day who are still hanging on there. People with the experience and qualifications and years left to get the hell out of that abysmal aviation backwater and be money ahead if they only made the least amount of effort. People whom I would gladly chime in for in any way I could.

I know moving on isn't in the cards for everybody and I don't mean to sound cavalier or condescending but for those of you who can make a move do it NOW! Leave the compound before it burns to the ground! It's better on the outside, it really is.

 

[Rcmoellerpilot]

A Union is crucial to the quality of a pilot’s life.

It's not the time to be silent. A little information we need to all consider.

From a trusted source:

- all of the 604 flight attendants are being fired

- the manager who called to inform the crews of the decision admitted because the FA's don't have a CBA they can do whatever they want

- same manager also told them we are severely understaffed and delaying 350 deliveries because we can't staff them (so much for the Red Label waiting list)

- despite all the spin we are having a hard time getting qualified candidates and are losing pilots faster than we can hire and definitely faster than we can train

And the most concerning:

- some pilots are being given random casual assurances no matter what happens, because they sent in a card they will be protected. How does management know who sent in cards? Or are they fishing for reactions to gauge who did and who didn't? Why would a pilot believe such an assurance when the mention of it breaks the law? That's like hiring a child molester to babysit.

Something about this drive if off. Something about this management team is off. I respect the fact Mr. Ricci provides me a job and signs my paycheck but it seems there is more to worry about than Mr. Ricci's word. He runs a huge multinational corporation. He will not always have the time to be so personally invested in the details of Flexjet.

I'm sorry but I will not trust the rest of my career to the whims of a very unprofessional and disjointed management system without a union. Once Mr. Ricci steps in to fire or correct bad management, who knows who might be in charge tommorow. We all complain to each other on the road about the constant barrage of fractious communication, the rolling 10/24's, the crew rots, the exploitation of the contract. Management flaunts it simply to blame on the union but we are the ones getting hurt in the bitter fight.

Regardless of the lack of progress on negotiations, right now it looks 100% the only side actively hurting us is management.

I will be voting to keep the union we have. It might not be perfect but in a way we are the ones to blame for it's weakness. How can we vote to get rid of them when we never really gave them a shot?

Agreed.
Decertification is management’s dream come true. Pilots are strong together, not separated by management’s pick and choose approach.
A strong Union is created by the unity and strength of the pilot group. Work and patience is required to build a union and union leadership that you can be proud of.

 

[rajflyboy]

Vote to keep the union

You need it if you want to get = pay and benefits with other pilots in the fractional business

 

[GlorifiedCabbie]

This is an excerpt from “Confessions of a Union Buster by Martin J Levitt. I think it pretty much sums up what is going on right now at OneSky.


Union busting is a field populated by bullies and built on deceit. A campaign against a union is an assault on individuals and a war on the truth. As such, it is a war without honor. The only way to bust a union is to lie, distort, manipulate, threaten, and always, always attack. The law does not hamper the process. Rather, it serves to suggest maneuvers and define strategies. Each "union prevention" campaign, as the wars are called, turns on a combined strategy of disinformation and personal assaults.

When a chief executive hires a labor relations consultant to battle a union, he gives the consultant run of the company and closes his eyes. The consultant, backed by attorneys, installs himself in the corporate offices and goes to work creating a climate of terror that inevitably is blamed on the union.

Sound familiar?

 

[airman2105]

Just a note: if Onesky decides they don't like you in the Red label program they will put you on the Phenom. That is a sure way to get rid of someone. You need a union to stop these bully tactics from happening.

 

[flexpilot]

Vote to keep 1108 or you'll definitely regret it. I've seen this non-union train wreck. Policies literally change overnight without a union, and the change is always something a little worse.
Stick together pilots, make 1108 work for you don't believe anything the snake oil salesman tells you.

 

[hydrarkt]

As a long time NJA pilot, I wholeheartedly agree with the above. If you decertify, you are in trouble. Your working conditions will deteriorate, your pay will be at the whims of management, favoritism will run rampant, you'll be constantly afraid of losing your job, etc. etc. Building a strong union takes years. Once you vote NOT to decertify, a message will be sent to KR that he must play ball. He'll still fight. But long term, the ball will slowly rolll into your court. Ask me how I know.

 

[flexible]

OK how do you know?

And while you're at it can you please address the accusations of inadequacy lobbed toward the 1108 in consideration of your pilots groups switch to NJASAP?

Thanks.

 

[hydrarkt]

OK how do you know?

And while you're at it can you please address the accusations of inadequacy lobbed toward the 1108 in consideration of your pilots groups switch to NJASAP?

Thanks.

I know because, for years, NJA management attempted to increase workload, decrease rest, reduced QOL etc. The ONLY reason the pilot group was able to secure QOL improvements, pay increases, 100 crew bases, 4 weeks of vacation, the ability to "fatigue" without repercussions, legitimate protection from unjust discipline, legal representation for disciplinary action from management, etc. is because of the Union. None of these things would have happened without the Union.

When we were represented by 1108, we were fairly small. As we grew, the local was inadequate to handle our size and really weren't familiar with aviation. I don't know what the situation is there now. HOWEVER, we did NOT decertify 1108!!! We just changed representation to our own, in house Union, NJASAP. It hasn't been easy. If you knew me, you'd know that I am often critical of our Union. But I'm critical because I want it to always be better. We've had our ups and downs in regard to Union leadership teams. But it's gotten much, much better over time as the Union leadership learned and the pilot group grew. And it was always better to have some representation than none.

If you want different Union leadership, like we did years ago, you can change leadership without decertifying. If you decertify, you have to organize and hold another Union drive, essentially beginning all over again. Disaster.

 

[Bjtdrvr]

Actually NJ helped form the 1108. They changed from their local that was small and didn't really understand what was going on. 1108 helped them get their first big contract. Later they decided to keep the 22 percent that went to national Teamsters and formed their own in house union BUT they had 2500 members not 500 like we have.

 

[Imissmypilot]

No I'm pretty sure a Kenn Ricci and his leadership style is the problem. He fired one of his best friends without the blink of an eye for questioning one of his decisions. It's human nature; when other managers see something like that happen they hunker down and CYA. He has such a fanatical fan base born out of some twisted version of Stockholm syndrome I'm convinced the guys up in CGF (and the Waterview) would slap their momma if they thought Kenn wanted them to.

I have to admit, when I saw the headlines that a billionaire died in Mexican resort town this weekend I thought maybe I had jumped ship too soon.

 

[Club ORD FO]

Did you quit?

 

[Dooker]

No I'm pretty sure a Kenn Ricci and his leadership style is the problem. He fired one of his best friends without the blink of an eye for questioning one of his decisions. It's human nature; when other managers see something like that happen they hunker down and CYA. He has such a fanatical fan base born out of some twisted version of Stockholm syndrome I'm convinced the guys up in CGF (and the Waterview) would slap their momma if they thought Kenn wanted them to.

I have to admit, when I saw the headlines that a billionaire died in Mexican resort town this weekend I thought maybe I had jumped ship too soon.

Sorry, man, but I have to disagree with you. Kenn Ricci is a symptom of a greater problem and that problem is a group of pilots who've lacked cohesion since day one and who've grown so accustomed to singing for their supper that they can't imagine life any other way. Why this was the case at 'Flex is something I still puzzle over after almost two years gone and I wish I knew the answer.

Flexjet was and remains an aberration and the longer you're away from it the more you come to realize it. Flexjet pilots had ample warning of what the future held well before the 2013 buyout yet continued to cling to the myth that things would be rosy moving forward because the things that applied everywhere else and to other pilots somehow didn't apply to them.

I'm glad to see that you've moved on and I wish more 'Flex and Options guys and gals would do just that. The best revenge you can hope for against someone as debased as Kenn Ricci and his cast of freaks is to just walk away.

 

[shanes123]

A friggin men

 

[flexible]

Momo are you still sure Kenn Ricci is not the problem after reading his response to the union's request to meet?

Whether or not it was personally written to an individual, the union represents all of us. That letter shows to a T exactly where he thinks the hierarchy of the relationship is. King Kenn high on a mountain and pilots in a ditch at its base.

Did you catch the last part where he lets the cat out of the bag he feels we need to be humbled for daring to get a fair contract? After years of relentless attack, millions of dollars and now intrusion by some national political campaign it is no wonder we are having this vote. He is getting what he paid for. It is not a reflection on pilots or union leadership. It is a testament to the fact his ego can never be wrong no matter how much it costs.

I would like to ask why he has not been humbled by now 3 consecutive campaigns where a majority of his own pilots are telling him his leadership style sucks and his ideas don't work?

You should be offended by that letter every but as much as it it were written to you personally. Lastly, I gotta give props to the union's response. Class act.

 

[airman2105]

Ricci is a devious CEO. He will oil the squeaky wheels to make as many FOK as he can for this vote. If the decert drive fails he will reduce the FOK dramatically and all the promises will disappear. Back to the old familiar days of being screwed over except WITH A UNION. As has been said before, every attempt of his way of running a business has always resulted in a union being voted in. He will still use the same tactics if he lives to be a 100 years old. They say live and learn, he just leaves out the latter part.

 

[exagony]

All the decert guys will get what they deserve if the vote fail- miserable work rules and stuck working for the scourge of aviation. Will feel bad for the guys who see the light if the union goes away.