PLEASE!!! Don't scab for Amerijet!!
 

Eminent Brothers to the North:

As you may or may not know, Amerijet (Teamsters Airline Division) in MIA is now on strike. Over five years of negotiations asking for the 10% back that the company took this year when the pilots would not decertify the union and a 3% increase over the 1999 pay rates and a 4 year contract. The company is demanding the right to dock 2 days pay (5 hours) for each day a crewmember calls in sick and a 5 year contract with NO PAY RAISES in the last 20 months!!:mad:

In addition, they not only refuse to provide for basic physiological needs inflight, they refuse to provide even drinking water or a box lunch for flights.

U.S. airline pilots have stood with them. UPS (IPA), American(APA) Southwest (SWAPA), USAir and America West (USAPA), IBT Local 1224 (ABX, Atlas, Polar and Kalitta), and the airlines of IBT Local 747...all stand in solidarity. Unions across Florida and the U.S. are supporting them. The Venezuelan government has impounded a plane for violating their laws.:D

Today, in a bid to break the strike, they have chartered a CargoJet 767 to fly through the legal picket line. They will stop at nothing to break these pilots, who make so little money they qualify for government assistance and food stamps.

Please assist the Amerijet pilots in any way possible. If you fly for CargoJet or know somone who does, please forward this. Please DO NOT cross their picket lines and fly struck freight. Canadian labor unions are being contacted about this as well and being asked for their assistance.

PLEASE DON'T FLY STRUCK WORK! STAND UP FOR YOUR INDUSTRY!!

It would appear that CJT is officially now a SCAB outfit, and duly noted as such.

FlightAware > Live Flight Tracker > Cargojet Airways Ltd. #1894 > 29-Aug-2009 > KMIA-TTPP

If you don't like your job move on! I have no use for unions, they protect the lazy. What you people seem to forget is that other people need to eat as well and if it means being a scab then so be it. I wouldn't let my family starve, and I believe if you people were in the same position neither would you!

Unfortunately CargoJet is not unionized, Not really surprised about this Cargojet doesn't keep to agreements and such with its own pilots.
I am curious as to how a Canadian company can fly cargo domestically in the US, would this in fact be some sort of cabotage rule? Just think if a US company tried that up here. :mad:

Edit: noted it was an international flight not US Domestic

It's always good to know what you're talking about when you go on a rant. While I sympathize with the Amerijet pilots, the simple fact is that any Cargojet pilots refusing to fly would be breaking Canadian labour law. If you work in a federally regulated industry in Canada (i.e. airlines), you cannot refuse to do legitimate work. And whether we like it or not, this is legitimate work under Canadian law.

Good for you, Canada, but please keep your filthy scum out of Miami. Shame, shame, we always looked to Canada as our better half. Take your moralizing and better than the US-type behavior, and go home. No American company would ever pull this garbage in Canada.

Shame on the spineless Cargojet whores.

Sorry to impugn the whole of Canada, but I have loved visiting the Great White North, and feel betrayed. Canadians are the great citizens of this world, far better behaved than us south of the border. It really hurt to see the shameless guys slither onto their aircraft. In the USA, if we were caught in a similar no-win situation, we would use the FAR's to our advantage, just like ABX did. When ABX walked away, the freight was unloaded and put right onto CargoJet. There are always strategies to do what is right.

To J.O.
 

Please don't let the actions of a few spoil your thoughts about the rest up here...
To J.O. Are you sure about that refusal to work thing? I have a tough time believing that anyone would be in hot water for refusing to work..legit or not?
Can you show the labour code link (if possible) Not impugning you, just very curious about the Labour Code allowing such a thing.
Thanks...

Disclaimer : I am half a world away, and rely upon the previous posts in formulating my opinion.

And that opinion is..........

Don't throw stones at ALL Cargojet pilots. Who knows, maybe it is only a few (spineless) management types flying this cargo. Other (decent) Cargojet pilots may have been approached to fly this trip and refused. Who knows? I certainly don't, but would hesitate to lump ALL Cargojet pilots in the same category.

My experiences with Canadian pilots have been generally pleasant and positive. It would be unfair to malign them all.

Don't worry, Amerijet crews don't directly blame or condemn the Canadian crew members. I ought to know, I'm at Amerijet.
We regret the freight got out. That's all.
As far as unions? We need one. Simple. People need work? We can quit and move on? Fact. But if we're stuck here we still deserve to be payed, dutied, provided for in fair manner. That's all we're asking. We're NOT making great $ (I've been here a while, I'm back to less than what I started at), we're pressured to go over 16 hour days, we're not provided water or food, we're delayed over and over for the same things, and we're on our own to get food and water where we're required to RON.
Thanks for the support. Thanks for the input.

Chimbu Warrior: Agreed. Only the ones who are doing the flying for Amerijet are scabs.

Rotorhead350: Obviously you have no clue what these pilots deal with, or you wouldn't hold yourself out as such a horse's ass. The Amerijet pilots work for less than poverty wages and some qualify for government assistance. From your lofty perch, one can only expect that you have no idea what unions are beyond what pablum you have been fed and now parrot.

Before you further prove the old Indian adage of: "It's better to be silent and thought to be a fool than speak and remove all doubt," as you so eloquently have done, perhaps you should view this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZFMLh_tZtM

For the rest of you who do have functioning brains, after you view it, send it to everyone you know.

Courtesy of youtube:

Pilots will come from everywhere to take your job.Unfortunately,that is the weakness of human nature.There were many Americans in Australia in 1989 America West, ex Braniff and others.Check the internet the facts and names are all there.So don't be too harsh on the Canadians when your own backyard is far from perfect.The name of the game is divide and rule.We must stick together.Once management divide US the game is over.I wish all the striking pilots all the success,but I have my doubts based on experience.

First, I want to make it clear that I do not work for Cargojet. But I do have friends who work there and they are every bit as honourable and professional as any others I've met.

As I said above, I completely sympathize with the Amerijet pilots. I've heard enough to know that they have legitimate concerns and deserve to have a contract that is respectful and pays a decent living wage. A few of you need to get your facts straight. "Quit if you don't like it" has been the anti-union mantra for far too long, and it smacks of an arrogant elitism that professional pilots have worked too long and hard to overcome.

Hi Left Coaster;

I don't have a go to and I'm sorry but I don't have time to look for a reference right now. I can only say that I speak from past experience. Several years ago, a certain Canadian airline's pilots went on strike. Said airline was trying to keep some of their routes flying and they were chartering other Canadian carriers to do so, my company among them. The head of our pilots' association received a call from the striking union telling him that we could not fly their passengers. He understood their concerns and he wanted to be supportive (as did most of us), but having never experienced such a situation before, he decided to get a legal opinion from a well respected labour lawyer. He was told in writing that any refusal to do said work, which was legitimate work under the law, would be tantamount to an illegal strike action. So we had no choice but to plug our noses and go do the work. It is in fact no different than answering a call from crew scheduling and then refusing to go to work without any legal justification to do so.

When you're a small group of less than 200 non-unionised pilots, it's not like you've got much to back you up when you draw a line in the sand. Large unions like those in the US who are supporting the Amerijet pilots are speaking from a position of strength, and their companies don't want the hassle of fighting them on it for such a small amount of extra work that wouldn't even put a dent in the balance sheet. For a small struggling cargo carrier like Cargojet that's desperate for more work, the Amerijet flying can mean the difference between a profitable month and a money loser.

So, try to have a little understanding before calling the Cargojet pilots scum, scabs or any other derogatory terms. They are legally bound to go to work, and probably are no happier about having to do so than you are when you see them doing it.

Jeff

Just my opinion.........
 

All;

First of all I was a union pilot therefore I strongly symphatize with the striking Amerijet pilots and support their actions for better (human like) wages and working conditions but....

The facts are that no one country, no one group is totally innocent when it comes to scab work. The CJ pilots in question (and the target of this tread) indicated that they are scabs. By definition of the word I agree.

I can assure you that in my phone discussion with one of their pilots a few minutes ago they are "disturbed" by what they have to do. Do they have a choice? As someone else pointed out above the law is the law. They cannot refuse to go to work as they have "no union" and therefore they will be fired if they refuse. Being fired is an irrevocable action.

In these hard time in aviation jobs it is a lot to ask an "individual" to lose his/her job because some unknown group is some other country is having labor difficulty. Don't you agree? If not please try to understand their position before offending them individually.

I think the energy of the striking Amerijet pilots should be directed at their company and solely at their company. Beside if I understand it correctly at the rate that CJ charge for these "ad-hoc" charters your company better call you back and give you all your back pay and then some.

Let's face it Amerijet pilots you are working for a company that doesn't deserve you. And they show it by the manner they treat you. A very sad case of abuse if the facts published on this tread are true.

You have my support and understanding........but that is all I can give you.

PS: Just in case it need to be stated.....NO, I am not a Cargo Jet pilot. I do know a hand full of pilots there but that's all. Aviation is a small world......but you already know that.

In solidarity

I would like to give my thoughts on this subject.

First the situation is terrible where you have people refusing to work because they want better working conditions, then to make the situation worse you have other pilots doing the work the striking pilots refused to do.

It is a hopeless situation in many ways.

I personally could not live with myself if I were to undermine my fellow colleagues in aviation by helping the company they are on strike against.

So I personally would not do it, even if it meant losing my job because I would still have my self respect.

The above are only my thoughts and not meant to slag the Canadian pilots who are flying the trips.

We each must do what we think we have to do.

J.O.
 

Thanks...after a bit of sleuthing and a thought about it, I get it...No protection is just that, no protection. The situation down there looks like a no win for anyone at the moment. I surely sympathise will all parties except maybe the CJ management...even if they think they can hide behind the "bottom line" money issue. At any rate, my hat is off to the Amerijet people who are standing up for better days.
As my grampa used to say: "Illegitimus non carborundum"...

Hey guys "grow a pair", please don't help AmeriJet. Those guys have one of the worst T and C's in the industry. Don"t scab for them if you have any self respect.

Well, I wouldn't take bread off of another man's table. But you go ahead and enjoy all the wages and benefits that your unionized brothers have brought to the aviation industry.