Professional Suicide in One Easy Step

[Typhoon1244]

From the Chicago Tribune, Dec. 22
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (LETTER)
Midway safety

by Russell Johnson

I am an airline captain flying for Chicago Express Airlines, d.b.a. ATA Connection. I am based at Midway Airport. The closure of Meigs Field has had a dramatic negative effect on the safety of every aircraft and passenger who flies into Midway Airport. The diversion of a significant number of business aircraft from Meigs Field to Midway has resulted in severe congestion and has compromised safety both in the air and on the ground at Midway. Aircraft are now routinely required to hold in the air while en route to Midway.

Ground stops, which delay the departure of Midway-bound aircraft from other airports, are also becoming commonplace. This is a direct result of the saturation of Midway's airspace due to the closure of Meigs Field. This saturation results in reduced separation between aircraft and significantly higher workloads for controllers and pilots.

Also it is becoming increasingly difficult for the airlines that operate from Midway to remain on schedule due to these unpredictable delays.

There is a significant potential long-term negative impact on the viability of Midway as home to major airlines such as ATA and Southwest. The City of Chicago should reopen Meigs Field as soon as possible.

My understanding is that within hours of this hitting the news stands, a heated telephone conversation took place between the G.O.'s of ATA and Chicago Express. Russell may be looking for a new job.

(Even if you're right, for god's sake, sign it "anonymous!")

 

[banned username 2]

What a knucklehead...

 

[Flying Illini]

I'm glad somebody finally had the balls to say it. He then went above and beyond by signing his name. If he gets fired for it I will send him a few bucks!

 

[Typhoon1244]

The real shame is that he apparently (I'm told) had an interview coming up with ATA.

Not anymore, I'll bet!

 

[Traumahawk]

Daley can go to Hell

Here Here....
Though I may not have signed my name, theres a certain respect that I pay to someone who does, so long as he meant to and didn't just do it out of habit.

The people of Chicago can't let this go to the grave. And a credible voice such as Russ's is very important to the cause. I have sent letters but if I still lived up there I would park myself outside Daley's door and make his life a living hell. I might start an argument that the cars from his street could drive into my house and have his street closed....

This hits home to us pilots, especially from the windy city, BUT in ANY case, he used a national tradgedy and the after-state of paranoia to justify closing a perfectly good airport that him and his wife "find annoying". He lied in saying there was a security risk to the buildings of downtown Chicago when him and the rest of us know a citation could takeoff from LAX and end up pointed at any skyline it chooses inside it's range.

BOTTOM line....this guy is the biggest scab in my book. His life should be made a living hell for such a corrupt way to go about closing such a memorable, historical and viable resource to the city. I guess we all know what he was smiling about as he shook on keeping the place open only months earlier.....

--T-hawk

 

[enigma]

What a knucklehead...

Dittos to that. I wonder if he realized how many potential ATA pax he scared away by informing everone that Midway was now experiencing unpredictable delays. I applaud his attempt to help reopen Meigs, but his actions could cost his own employer money. Not smart!

regards,
enigma

 

[BoDEAN]

What a knucklehead...

LMAO. No SH|T!

 

[FN FAL]

Illinois...land of the free, home of the brave. No private machine gun ownership, no private silencer ownership, no private planes going into Meigs. Hmmmm...I bet the man-women of Illinois have a hard time seeing the correlation...but I can see a situation where local government has gone from serving the people, to owning the people, and in exchange for that service the man-women of Illinois can now put both legs through their skirts at the same time.

 

[nimtz]

My understanding is that within hours of this hitting the news stands, a heated telephone conversation took place between the G.O.'s of ATA and Chicago Express. Russell may be looking for a new job.

(Even if you're right, for god's sake, sign it "anonymous!")

Guess that guy wishes they would of voted in ALPA over at C8 earlier in the year. This is exactely the type of thing a union helps fight, but hey don't want that 1.5% deducted from your paycheck. As for Meigs, guys you gotta let it go. The place is carved up and awaiting transformation to 'lush gardens.' It sucks and is completey wrong, but Daley is the dictator of Chicago and life is not fair sometimes. The only way to change it is to get him out of office, but you can't destroy the Chicago Political Machine (esp since it now has the Governor's office as well) over the issue of a GA airport.

 

[fr0g]

Well, if he is in fact correct - that the volume of traffic is somehow compromising safety, I commend him for standing up and recognizing it. Perhaps the newspaper was not the best avenue, but I still admire someone that has the guts to stand up for what is right.

 

[350DRIVER]

LMAOAROTF! ! ! !- That seriously was pure stupidity at it's best to send that with name on it...


That airport is history, some Express captain is not going to change the mind of any politicians. Sad thing is he probably lost the job opportunity at ATA.


3 5 0

 

[FSB99]

maybe it's just me, but, i'm not seeing the 'knuckleheadedness' in his action. if anything, the knuckleheads are those who would have the guy fired for expressing his opinion in public. some posters above talk about the dictatorship of daley in chicago, but then go on to laugh and doom the job and life of the writer of the opinion. it was just that, wasn't it? an opinion, submitted to a newspaper, published in the editorials/op-ed section? i think it's a travesty if this guy loses his job becasue he spoke his mind. talk about encrouchment on personal liberties and freedom.

 

[Swass]

#1 You can't fire a guy who states an opinion publicly. (Any lawyer would die to have this case, are you kidding?)

#2 The pilot never said he was a representative of the airline or of Midway, this was an op-ed piece, I believe.

#3 I think Russell has brass stones for stating his opinion, especially by not signing it anonymously. If the implications hurt his career I believe it would be a crime, but not unexpected in our society where you always have to watch what you say or the PC police will arrest you.

 

[AA717driver]

He should have at least identified himself as a SWA pilot... TC

P.S.--FN FAL, great screen name. They are a real work of art. A friend had several including a folding stock Braziallian model.

 

[Typhoon1244]

He should have at least identified himself as a SWA pilot...

Better yet, he should have put "Sincerely, Scott Hall, D/O, Chicago Express"

 

[jarhead]

Swass,

There is a certain amount of naivety in your comment that Russell could not be fired for stating an opinion publicly. Any employee, in any company, in any industry can be dismissed summarily, for making public comments that potentially cause economic harm to his employer. It is done all the time. Unless your job is to speak publicly for a company’s position on a matter, you are not allowed to do so. Check in any employee handbook at any company. You may not do that. That type of “public” comment is expressly forbidden, and adhering to that policy is a condition of employment. If you cannot live with it, do not accept the job. Otherwise, you must be prepared to accept the possibility of dismissal. Can you imagine the chaos that would/could occur, if thousands of ‘op-ed’ pieces offering thousands of different opinions on ones employer could affect that entities ability to operate? You do not have some sort of legal ‘right’ to give public remarks that affect an employer’s ability to run its business. You are hired by an employer to do a specific job, and giving potentially harmful statements to the public is not in your job description; in fact it is expressly forbidden in any company I have been employed by.

This is not to say that Mr. Russell can not exercise his constitutional rights to free speech. There are consequences to those actions however. Dismissal from employment is one of those consequences. There are not many lawyers who “would die” to take on this hypothetical dismissal; they would most certainly lose.

Finally, Mr. Russell expressly identified himself as an employee of his airline. As such, in the public view, he was speaking as an employee of that airline. Bravo to him for having the courage of his convictions. It takes a lot of courage to take such action. As the old saying goes, “No good deed shall ever go unpunished”.

 

[Northern Lights]

Any employee, in any company, in any industry can be dismissed summarily...

A little thread drift, but that reminds me of an Office Space quote;

I was told that if I was late one more time I would be summarily dismissed.

--Milton

I hope things work out for the pilot.

 

[jarhead]

I don't claim to be a 'linguist' but I believe the term "summarily" in this context, means that no review of circumstance, or consideration of circumstances needs to be given, nor will it be be given.

 

[enigma]

maybe it's just me, but, i'm not seeing the 'knuckleheadedness' in his action. ..................................................... i think it's a travesty if this guy loses his job becasue he spoke his mind. talk about encrouchment on personal liberties and freedom.

The knuckleheadedness comes from publicly taking action detrimental to all our livelyhoods. In an attempt to help re-open a general aviation airport, he wrote words that will cause his airline(and others) to lose business. At least he could have included ORD as an effected airport in his letter. Instead he whined that MDW was less safe than before, in effect costing his own company business. Heck, I'd have written the same letter, but since my carrier flys to ORD, I'd have been helping instead of hurting.

I wish that free speech was free, but it's not. One must be willing to put their money where their mouth is. I would find a way to fire an employee who said/did something that was detrimental to my business. Why should an employeer keep someone who is harmful to the business?


enigma

 

[VADriver]

My ALPA MEC speaks for me...and I tell them what to say....

damm unions....what good are they....)