Chopter.....
That ad was posted earlier in the thread....and I have posted the latest rumours about how many pilots were hired, trained, failed their checkrides, quit, and have found their way onto the line.
Air Log is in fact hiring contract pilots....they are in fact paying far more money to the contract pilots than they do for Union pilots to do workovers....
The other side of the coin is why someone would want to endure what is bound to be coming if the Work Action takes place?
You could not pay me enough to do that.....I would suggest they take their long underwear and overcoats because it is going to be very icy in the crewroom and accomodation before the end of the cooling off period.
Now there is a contradiction....."Cooling off period"....knowing it will get much hotter at the end of the COP if no agreement has been reached.
My advice to the Contract pilots is to carry their toothbrush with them at all times.....leaving it unguarded might be a mistake.
A photograph of it lodged in an unusual place might find its way to their home address.
Devil....
My sources would suggest that if the Air Log management thinks the Union will cave in .....then they are in for a rude surprise. I am sure the management has decided for some reasons known only to them....the right course of action is to fight the union tooth and nail thus the current situation in the GOM. It is plain that the management has undertaken an effort to de-certify the union and is doing a full court press right out of the Union buster's play book. What they overlook is the pilots down there can read too.
The following item found its way to my e-mail ...... The pilots are not completely unaware of what Homer Deakins, et al are all about. Thus, I would suggest the pilots are prepared for the fight and know what is at stake.
UNION BUSTING
Ever since the first employer confronted the first collective bargaining unit, there has been a concerted effort by management to either deny access into the work place by that unit or to defrock it once it got into place. Unable or unwilling to confront these CBU’s (Collective Bargaining Units) on their own, Companies sought out specialist to deal with this perceived problem These specialists were/are consultants and lawyers who focused on one thing: Union Busting or the more formal terminology “decertification” of existing unions. By 1990 this had become a one billion dollar a year business which made it very lucrative. At Air logistics we are now faced with one of the best “specialist” in the Industry: Homer Deakins. His tactics are not new, clever or innovative. In fact they follow a well orchestrated and patented script designed with one purpose in mind: decertification of our union.
We have just finished reading an important paper published by John Logan. Mr. Logan is a lecturer at the prestigious London School of Economics. His paper outlines the tactics and dirty tricks management uses to intimidate, harass, demoralize weaken and ultimately decertify the union. Believe us; decertification of our union appears to be the ultimate goal of management. Over the past two years Management was never interested in negotiating or bargaining for a contract. To the contrary, by reading further you will begin to see how the bargaining process is one of the tools used to demoralize and further weaken solidarity.
“You haven’t lost until you sign a contract” is the mantra that consultants instill in their clients at the outset of any contract negotiations. Based on that statement, companies in general will do whatever it takes to stall and prolong the bargaining process. Bargain to the point of boredom is what many consultants advocate. To do so allows more time for labor and Labor leadership turnover. This turnover in Labor staff creates confusion and dissatisfaction with union representation. The consultants advise employers to bargain to impasse in order to engineer a “management strike.” This is an economic strike provoked by the employer followed by the company asking for cuts in wages and benefits and working conditions (i.e. mandatory work over). If negotiations continue the company continues with its bad faith bargaining and if moving at all only does so on trivial, non economic issues. Since all of this will surely be rejected by the union membership, the union has little choice but to call a strike of their own. This of course, is precisely what management wants. At this point replacement workers are called in with the lure of high wages and the promise of permanent employment in the future. If (in our case) transportation services to Air Logistics customers cannot be maintained due to a shortage of pilots it would not be uncommon for like companies to band together and support each other during this time of need. All of these building blocks are the perfect prelude to the decertification process.
In conclusion, let us say that we have tried in broad strokes to paint a picture of what is now happening at Air Logistics. Certainly you see similarities and evidence of the company’s overt tactics. The recent termination of 6 union activists the harsh disciplining of 5 others, the letter of reprimand issued to the employee for transporting tee shirts on company aircraft, the implementation of the “sick day verification.” The threat of mandatory work over, the legal injunction and civil lawsuit are all calculated to intimidate, harass and put fear into union members. Certainly, all of these occurrences and events are designed with one purpose in mind: decertification OPEIU Local 107.
I once again pose the questions....as an outsider to all this...what drives the company to be so reluctant to settle the matter? What issues remain that can be so important that the two parties cannot continue to negotiate. Is one side engaging in "Russian Style"negotiation (I win....you lose) and the other is unable to get a compromise. Are there in fact real issues that need to be resolved that cannot be resolved without one side or the other capitulating and taking a loss? Is it money....work rules or what that divides the two sides?
Lots of people, in addition to the two warring parites, are going to suffer as a result of all this acrimony. It is already taking a toll. Is it just plain "EGO" that is driving this dispute?