Flight Options mechanics going union?

[Simba]

It seems that I've found a quiet neighborhood to reside in. How 'bout we spice things up a bit? Knock on a few doors, turn on a few lights, and turn a few heads?

Over-all Flight Options has been a fairly good company to work for in the recent past. It does look like worker satisfaction is on an extreme downward spiral. I am amazed at the amount of pissed-off I run into as I walk those hallowed halls. And, I'm even more shocked at the lack of initiative that those pissed-off people have when the subject of "change" comes up in conversation. They welcome it as long as they don't have to lift a finger to help.

The company closed APA last month and has all but said (in the quarterly brief) that they are out to cut additional costs. They want to out-source maintenance because it is cheaper to pay variable costs than it is to pay the known cost of overhead (hangar operation costs, people, and tools).

All that can only mean that they intend on cutting additional maintenance bases. Personally, I would expect that MCC is next on the chopping block. The evidence is there. Lots of people have been leaving MCC and the company has not attempted to fill the vacancies. If you doubt me look at the jobs posted on their website. The Parts Dept. closes at 7pm and the mechanics are the ones shipping parts after. The planes aren't being brought in to MCC like they were this time last year. Or you can choose to believe Michael Sheringa and all those that talked at the town-hall meeting the other night.

I'm pissed-off too. I think that we have the power to change the company and insure our jobs. The pilots have found the formula and the solution. Everything is negotiable. We all can have a contract (not just the executives).

I just want to know if there is support in the mechanics ranks for a union drive.

Hello!!! Is there anyone there???

 

[Simba]

Wow!!! It is quiet here. No one has posted squat in the "Fractionals" since I posted the above. Lots of views though.

Well, If you know a FLTO mechanic, tell them that this is a serious push, tell them about this web site (also flightinfo.com - must pay $10)and this thread. And tell them to read it.

__________________________________________________________

Here’s what we can expect to hear from management when workers form a union:

When workers form a union, we gain a voice in decisions that affect our jobs, our future and our families. Unfortunately, management doesn’t always like the idea of sharing the decision-making with employees. So management’s first reaction may be to make a lot of misleading statements to try to convince us not to join together.



This is what managers often say when

Management: “A union is a third party that will come between us.â€

Fact: Our union is a democratic, member-run organization.When we form a union here, we’ll worktogether to govern our o wn organization. And every contract will be reviewed and approved by a majority of the employees here where we work.

Management: “The union will make you go on strike.â€

Fact: Strikes are a rare last resort in contract negotiations—more than 95 percent of Teamster contracts are negotiated without a strike. And no strike will happen unless a two-thirds majority of workers vote to call one.

Management: “If you form a union, you risk losing the benefits and pay raises you already have.â€

Fact: It’s illegal for a company to freeze or cut previously scheduled raises to discourage us from forming a union. Once we’re organized, we’ll lock in our current wages and benefits and then negotiate improvements from there. All of us will get an opportunity to review our proposed contract before we vote to approve it. Obviously, we’re not going to approve a contract that cuts our wages or benefits.

Management: “The union just wants your dues money.â€

Fact: As a newly organized Teamster union, we won’t pay dues until we’ve negotiated and voted to approve our first contract—and decided for ourselves whether it’s worth it. Every serious organization has to have some kind of funding—churches, clubs, sporting leagues and similar organizations—and unions are no different. Dues pay for the costs of having an organization—contract negotiations, grievances and arbitrations, training for members, legal fees and other things so no one has to go it alone.

Management: “With a union, you won’t be allowed to talk to your supervisor—you’ll have togo through the union.â€

Fact: Teamsters have found that having a union strengthens communication between employees and supervisors. Direct relationships with immediate supervisors continue, and we can negotiate to retain any good policies and procedures already in place. The advantage of joining together in a union is that
we’re able to make our voices heard at the upper levels of management, where key decisions are made.

Management: “The improvements we’rewilling to make right now show that you don’t need a union.â€

Fact: It’s great that management is responding to our concerns. It shows that when we join together, our voices are heard. By forming a union, we can make sure this progress is not just short-term—we’ll build an ongoing dialogue with management on all our issues.We’ll also have peace of mind with a union—since the improvements we agree on will be guaranteed in our union contract.

 

[Simba]

I actually heard a mechanic say to me today, and I quote, "Our benifits were still better than most companys in the U.S.. Besides bad benitfits are better than no benifits. We should be greatful for what we have."

I don't know what companies that people are comparing our benifits with. I'm sure that they are looking at the fractional industry.. or even in the aviation industry.

They screwed us twice and we didn't even get the reach-around. First, they're making us pay almost double for close to comparable medical benifits to what we had in 2006. Then a second time when they made the affordable "package" crappy.

I guess most people haven't realized it yet, but the company keeps taking small pieces from the employees. They do that intentionally, hoping that no one will notice. They know that mechanics are happiest when they are left alone to fix airplanes. They count on that fact. They stick it to us then back off for a while. Believe me when I say that another is coming.

I'm sure that most of the mechanics don't remember but under Ken Ricci we used to get two paid months off every six years. That was the first thing that they took. That should have been the warning shot.

Wake up !!! Think !!!

 

[Simba]

O.K…. Why would a mechanic at Flops want to join a union?

Job Security
Really there is no such thing as a secure job in today’s world. But wouldn’t it be nice to have a severance package for the company to think about before they shut down another facility? APA was given two weeks of health benefits. They could also cash in their vacation time (and it didn’t come on the same check as their last pay either). Sure was nice of FLOPs, wasn’t it?

Pay Scale
I’ll bet that if you look around your facilities you will find someone that has been there longer that most people but making less money. In this company, no matter how great you are with the planes, if you don’t get it coming in the door, you won’t get it later. A pay scale that is designed around seniority as well as position would bring everyone onto a level playing field. We would all know when and what our next pay increase is going to be. Please don’t misinterpret what I’m saying here. I am not talking about pay cuts for those that lucked out on a good offer.

Overtime
As it stands now, overtime is pretty much up to the individual managers and departments. Some are required to work their O/T in .5 hour blocks (.4 doesn’t count and .6 is .5 O/T + .1 donated to the company). And some are lucky and still work their O/T like we did when we worked directly for Raytheon. But we all get paid our overtime not on the next check but 30 days after we work it. Is the company keeping those funds in a bank collecting interest? Or are they too inept and lazy?

Reviews and Raises
Ask around, I’m sure that you will find a few people that have received a good review but have yet to receive a raise. I personally know of two individuals that haven’t had a raise since Raytheon. And those lucky enough to get a raise find that it doesn’t compare with the rising cost of living (inflation).

The review system sucks. We are asked to rate ourselves. Then the first line supervisor rates us. Then HR approves his assessment. Then we might get the review back. Management thinks the review process sucks too, but is too lazy to change it. Actually, they are too lazy to get back to you with whether you performed well enough or not to merit a raise. Normally, it takes an excessive amount of time for FLOPs to put the money into the check. Did you know that the raise can be backdated? All it takes is an email from your supervisor to Sylvia in HR. How many of you were told that it couldn’t be done?


Well, that’s just four of the many issues that we could get taken care of with representation and a contract. There are a great many more. I will discuss a few more in my next post.

 

[Simba]

Had to do a little duck and cover lately. Just want to let the supporters and the know that the flame is still burning. Will post more regarding the resent policy changes later this week. Sure wish they'd be polite enough to give a reach-around.

 

[Simba]

Well, in spite of management’s best efforts, I remain unscathed. There is… or was a concerted effort to ferret out the pro-union folks. It appears that the focus has shifted back to running the department.

Guess we took it in the face yet again. This time they’re messing with our holiday pay. Check this out: we now have a bank of 48 hours of holiday pay for us to use on the six recognized holidays. At first glance that doesn’t sound too bad. However, consider this, the greater majority of FLOPS employees (non-pilot) work non-standard shifts. The definition of “non-standard†in this case is: anything other than five days of eight hour shifts (example: 4/10’s & 3/12’s). The people that this new policy effects are those that work non-standard shifts at the beginning of the week (Sunday – Wednesday). Three years from now the people on the back half of the week will feel the pain, but right now, they’re livin’ large.

OK, now do the math. If you work 10 hour shifts at the beginning of the week you will work five of the six holidays. That 50 hours at work with a 10 hour shift actually enjoying the family (we’ll consider that a full shift off). That equals 60 hours. Let’s see… 60-48=12. That means that you will be shorted 12 hours of holiday pay. Or, shorted 2 hours on Thanksgiving (which you would normally have off) and a full 10 hours on Christmas. Who wants to work Christmas Day for straight time??? The math is a little more lop-sided if you work 12 hour shifts, or 11’s and 12’s alternating. I don’t know about you, but I feel the flu coming on. I might have to call in sick Christmas Day.

If you ask our fantastic HR department they’ll tell you that this new policy was put in place to make the system fair to all. Well, duh… looks like it is fair to those working 8 hour shifts INCLUDING THE HR DEPARTMENT!!!

Now here’s the kicker. If you worked New Years Day, you got SCREWED and never knew it!!! They’re only paying you 8 hours of holiday pay regardless of how much time you actually work on the clock and they never told until G.M sent out his award-winning email on January 26th.

Don’t believe me? Read the email and look at your paycheck on February 15th.

Without a union, the company will continue to whittle away at everything until we have nothing.

 

[Simba]

This time the company is screwing every single employee with the new pay schedule.

Doesn't matter if you're salary, salary non-exempt, or hourly. The company converts your yearly pay into hours for ease of calculation.

Check this out. We all know that 40 hours a week multiplied by 52 weeks equals 2080, right? Well, our fantastic friends in management (M.S. and G.M. - V.P. of H.R.) forgot that.

In the first 6 months of 2007 we have received 6 paychecks (bi-monthly) with 86.67 hours on them and on 4/13 we will start to receive 6 more paychecks (bi-weekly) with 80 hours on each one. You can check the math any way you like, it always adds up to 1000 hours. The last 6 months of 2007 we will receive 13 checks with 80 each = 1040 hours.

WHERE DID THE 40 HOURS FROM THE FIRST 6 MONTHS GO?

The change to a 2 week payroll will save Flight Options roughly $1,500,000. That's just me using the number of active empoyees times 40 hours times an average hourly wage. It is definitely more.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

Wouldn't you like to put that chunk of change in you bank account?

This "over sight" was brought to G.M.'s attention by numerous people from many different departments. He couldn't see the "error." Just like he couldn't see the "error" in his awesome Holiday Pay plan. He is a "special boy."

Incidentally, regarding that Holiday Pay plan. In case you haven't heard, the "salary non-exempt" folks are given a bank of 48 hours to use over the 6 holidays in the year. Initially it doesn't look bad but take this into consideration: the OCC, OSR, Flight Planning, International, and the entire Maintenance department do not work 8 hour shifts. They will run out of holiday pay on Thanksgiving Day. Since S.M. & G.M. believe everyone likes this plan and refuse to consider a change, odds are very good that there will be an incredible number of people with the creeping crud on Christmas Day. In fact, if I were a betting man, I'd bet the farm on that horse.