realityman
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2004
- Posts
- 782
I love it!!! Best post on here in, well, YEARS!!
Yes, pilots eat their own. Even when some of those being eaten are trying to accomplish something that everyone could benefit from.
Reminds me of when I started with NJA (it was EJA back then). I came here in early '97, when an F/O started at $27K and a first year captain was paid $36K and we had to pay for our own training. Back in those days EJA was just starting on its rapid expansion. We were hiring like crazy and we couldn't take delivery of planes fast enough to keep up with demand. Some flight departments were closing their doors and going with shares with NJA.
And our pilots were hated. I'd even use the word 'reviled' by some. Why? Because we were called the "hors" of the industry. We were willing to pay for training and work at ridiculously low wages, which undercut everyone else and was helping to put pilots out of work as their flight departments closed and those companies went with us. I always wondered about this undercutting argument since even back then we were far more expensive than charter. But I digress.
So we were hated for "horing" ourselves out for such low wages.
Then came the fight for our new contract back in '04 and '05. We had enough and wanted to be paid 'professional' wages for doing what we did. That's when I really learned about pilots eating their own. As we battled with management for a decent wage, I was excited to hear from all those out there who called us "hors". After all, we weren't going to be "hors of the industry" anymore. The wave of support was going to be overwhelming, right?
Wrong. The very same folks who berated us for working for such low wages were now throwing insults at us and calling us "greedy". We were going to wreck a perfectly good company with our unreasonable demands. Oh, there were some out there who actually saw what we were trying to accomplish and took the time to wish us well, but the majority took every chance to cut down our efforts. I read it in the aviation periodicals. Heard it from the other pilots I met on the road. And read a fair amount of it on these very boards. We were now the perfect example of why aviation companies can't survive: those darn greedy pilots!!
So if we worked for low wages, we were what was wrong with the industry. And if we worked for professional wages, we were what was wrong with the industry.
Funny thing was, so many people benefited from our efforts. Shortly after our contract was signed, wages went up across the board for pretty much all the fractional pilots. Heck, even our (then) seperate company brethren at NJI received a tangible benefit from our efforts. I personally knew of a number of charter operators who 'coincidentally' increased their compensation packages shortly after our contract was ratified. And yet, very few of those who benefited from our efforts even cast a glance in our direction. We were still either "hors" or "greedy".
Before anyone jumps on me and tells me I'm being an arrogant a** for claiming we saved everyone flying private jets, that is not my point at all, or what I'm saying. I'm saying a lot of folks did benefit from our efforts. Certainly not everyone, nor am I saying we 'saved' anything. In fact, I openly admit we didn't do it for anyone outside of NJA. We acted as our union should, in our own self interests.
My point is just that X-Rated is correct. We should be helping each other out, and providing support. Not necessarily for our competing companies, but for the pilots who fly for those companies. We all do the same thing. Really. Rather than calling those who will work for less "hors", maybe we should provide encouragement to them to work to better their working compensation. And when a group manages to actually better things for themselves, maybe we should congratulate them for raising the bar, rather than refer to them as "greedy".
Personally, I'd be thrilled to see Flight Options, or Flex, or XOJet come up with a contract that paid 50% more than ours!
Think about it.
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