Dirty Squirrel
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2014
- Posts
- 93
With the permission of the the author, I am posting this below...
NetJets Call to Action
NetJets' Union has joined the fight - On the side of the Teamsters they fired
NJASAP the NetJets Union recently sent out a call to action to their Union members urging them to talk to their FlexJet brethren and convince us to keep the IBT11O8 (NetJets Pilots and Affiliates Union). We have placed calls to representatives of NJASAP in an attempt to ensure they hear both sides of the story here at FlexJet but have been unable to reach them. While we continue to reach out to them let's take a look at their history with the Teamsters before we let them influence our decisions.
When the Teamsters were first ushered in at NetJets they were under the IBT Local 284 they quickly became disillusioned with this local since they did not focus specifically on the needs of the NetJets Pilots. to quote some of the NetJets pilots' own words from back then "Local 284 has been dismissive of the pilots and uninterested in tackling the complexities of the fractional business and the needs of the members. We want the IBT to charter an independent local for the pilots" There was a movement established by a group of over 100 pilots including Amy Vidovich to establish an independent Local for the pilots of NetJets that would focus specifically on their needs. After a long fought battle the IBT1108 was born.
Once they had a Union focused on their needs the Pilots of NetJets were able to work with their management team and craft an Industry Leading Contract. Soon however, there was trouble in paradise as the Teamsters 1108 began to lose focus on the needs of their NetJets members. Under the influence of National Level Teamsters Leadership the IBT1108 turned to organizing the Pilots of Flight Options. They morphed from the IBT Local 1108 into the IBT 1108 (NetJet Pilots and Associates Union). They went on to absorb Citation Shares. At the same time the Teamsters created an adversarial relationship between the Pilots and Management of NetJets. In short the IBT1108, under National Level guidance, became focused on growing the dues base of the Union and not on the Pilots it was supposed to represent.
Fed up with a Union that was focused more on the Teamsters needs than the needs of the Pilots, the Pilots of NetJets decided to fire the Teamsters. After a drawn out and expensive battle, NetJets pilots were finally able to fire the Teamsters and form an in house Union. The Teamsters even pointed at the expense of this fight to explain why we at FlexJet could never afford to establish our own In House Union. The Pilots of NetJets finally ended up with a Union run directly by their pilots for their pilots with no National Level middleman serving their own interests.
Now that the same Union who failed the NetJets Pilots so miserably is being voted out here at FlexJet guess who the IBT1108 has reached out to for help??? The very pilot group who fire them, NetJets. The Union at NetJets has sent out a call to action asking their pilots to intervene and encourage FlexJet pilots to keep the IBT1108. Why??? In their call to action the NetJets pilot Union stresses that FlexJet pilots voting out a Union could impact their own leverage and bargaining power with their NetJets management team. They point out that us becoming more competitive can negatively impact their pay. The action group behind this is led by none other than Amy Vadovich who was one of the driving forces behind forming a Union that focuses on the needs of the NetJets Pilots. Amy and others like her at NetJets are still being very loyal to those they work for and with at NetJets but this time it's at our expense.
We encourage all FlexJet pilots to reach out to NetJets Pilots and urge them to stay out of our internal business. We urge you to encourage NetJets Pilots to contact Amy and the rest of their leadership team and tell them to pick up the phone and get both sides of the story before they jump to the IBT 1108s defense. Please, ask our friends at NetJets why they want to keep us saddled with the very Union they fired. Why should we keep a Union that "has been dismissive of the pilots and uninterested in tackling the complexities of the fractional business and the needs of the members"? Is it because it gives NetJets and their Pilot group a market advantage they want to keep?
NetJets Call to Action
NetJets' Union has joined the fight - On the side of the Teamsters they fired
NJASAP the NetJets Union recently sent out a call to action to their Union members urging them to talk to their FlexJet brethren and convince us to keep the IBT11O8 (NetJets Pilots and Affiliates Union). We have placed calls to representatives of NJASAP in an attempt to ensure they hear both sides of the story here at FlexJet but have been unable to reach them. While we continue to reach out to them let's take a look at their history with the Teamsters before we let them influence our decisions.
When the Teamsters were first ushered in at NetJets they were under the IBT Local 284 they quickly became disillusioned with this local since they did not focus specifically on the needs of the NetJets Pilots. to quote some of the NetJets pilots' own words from back then "Local 284 has been dismissive of the pilots and uninterested in tackling the complexities of the fractional business and the needs of the members. We want the IBT to charter an independent local for the pilots" There was a movement established by a group of over 100 pilots including Amy Vidovich to establish an independent Local for the pilots of NetJets that would focus specifically on their needs. After a long fought battle the IBT1108 was born.
Once they had a Union focused on their needs the Pilots of NetJets were able to work with their management team and craft an Industry Leading Contract. Soon however, there was trouble in paradise as the Teamsters 1108 began to lose focus on the needs of their NetJets members. Under the influence of National Level Teamsters Leadership the IBT1108 turned to organizing the Pilots of Flight Options. They morphed from the IBT Local 1108 into the IBT 1108 (NetJet Pilots and Associates Union). They went on to absorb Citation Shares. At the same time the Teamsters created an adversarial relationship between the Pilots and Management of NetJets. In short the IBT1108, under National Level guidance, became focused on growing the dues base of the Union and not on the Pilots it was supposed to represent.
Fed up with a Union that was focused more on the Teamsters needs than the needs of the Pilots, the Pilots of NetJets decided to fire the Teamsters. After a drawn out and expensive battle, NetJets pilots were finally able to fire the Teamsters and form an in house Union. The Teamsters even pointed at the expense of this fight to explain why we at FlexJet could never afford to establish our own In House Union. The Pilots of NetJets finally ended up with a Union run directly by their pilots for their pilots with no National Level middleman serving their own interests.
Now that the same Union who failed the NetJets Pilots so miserably is being voted out here at FlexJet guess who the IBT1108 has reached out to for help??? The very pilot group who fire them, NetJets. The Union at NetJets has sent out a call to action asking their pilots to intervene and encourage FlexJet pilots to keep the IBT1108. Why??? In their call to action the NetJets pilot Union stresses that FlexJet pilots voting out a Union could impact their own leverage and bargaining power with their NetJets management team. They point out that us becoming more competitive can negatively impact their pay. The action group behind this is led by none other than Amy Vadovich who was one of the driving forces behind forming a Union that focuses on the needs of the NetJets Pilots. Amy and others like her at NetJets are still being very loyal to those they work for and with at NetJets but this time it's at our expense.
We encourage all FlexJet pilots to reach out to NetJets Pilots and urge them to stay out of our internal business. We urge you to encourage NetJets Pilots to contact Amy and the rest of their leadership team and tell them to pick up the phone and get both sides of the story before they jump to the IBT 1108s defense. Please, ask our friends at NetJets why they want to keep us saddled with the very Union they fired. Why should we keep a Union that "has been dismissive of the pilots and uninterested in tackling the complexities of the fractional business and the needs of the members"? Is it because it gives NetJets and their Pilot group a market advantage they want to keep?