PHI encountering some manning problems!
Thread Starter
PHI encountering some manning problems!
CBA bargaining is dragging on at PHI in the GOM. (surprise, surprise!)
The Pilot's Union has filed a couple of grievances about manning issues.
Shell Oil has let a contract to PHI with a clause restricting pilots to max age of 60 and PHI has refused all pilots over that age who bid for those seats. Those bids by Union/PHI contract policy are supposed to go to the senior most qualifed pilot.
The Union has also filed a grievance on the EMS side of the PHI stating some EMS operations have been undermanned for over a year.
The current contract requires "forced" workover but pilots are beginning to refuse to workover despite PHI paying Double Pay for workover days in the GOM. Simultaneously, PHI EMS only pays Time and One Half for the same workover days.
Perhaps the Management at PHI still does not understand the old days of snapping fingers at pilots are over and they now have to do business in a more reasonable and businesslike manner.
The old days of Suggsy scouring the gutters of New Orleans for pilots passed a long time ago.
The Pilot's Union has filed a couple of grievances about manning issues.
Shell Oil has let a contract to PHI with a clause restricting pilots to max age of 60 and PHI has refused all pilots over that age who bid for those seats. Those bids by Union/PHI contract policy are supposed to go to the senior most qualifed pilot.
The Union has also filed a grievance on the EMS side of the PHI stating some EMS operations have been undermanned for over a year.
The current contract requires "forced" workover but pilots are beginning to refuse to workover despite PHI paying Double Pay for workover days in the GOM. Simultaneously, PHI EMS only pays Time and One Half for the same workover days.
Perhaps the Management at PHI still does not understand the old days of snapping fingers at pilots are over and they now have to do business in a more reasonable and businesslike manner.
The old days of Suggsy scouring the gutters of New Orleans for pilots passed a long time ago.
Thread Starter
Local folklore has that to be true.....the attitude sure was!
Taken from an industry source...
Prior to 1972, Petroleum Helicopters was, with a few small exceptions, the only source of helicopter services to the Gulf of Mexico oil companies. As the first of the 1970’s oil shortages emerged, new technologies meant offshore drilling could move farther offshore. Helicopter support quickly became an indispensable tool, allowing for timely crew changes and quick delivery of vital parts to keep the oil rigs drilling. With rigs costing tens of thousands of dollars a day to operate, helicopters were a cheap link to the mainland. They were cheap, in large part, due to the cost of labor. Bob Suggs, the owner of Petroleum Helicopters, had found an unlimited pool of helicopter pilots in returning Viet Nam veterans. The standard by which the growing industry viewed its pilots was summed up by the statement attributed to Bob Suggs that he could find all the pilots he wanted in the gutters of New Orleans.
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The basic view on this is, the customer sets the qualifications, if the pilot is over the age limit (and weight on some jobs) then the pilot is not qualified for the job. Shell has been talking about an age restriction for a few years and it should come as no surprise.
Thread Starter
Does a thing called "Age Discrimination" ring a bell 92?
Since when does one cut pilots for weight when bidding jobs? If the aircraft is too weak to do the task....it is the wrong aircraft....not overweight pilots.
Why not apply the same standards across the board....and chunk them old Hang Belly Mechanics out of the hangar if they cannot fit into the Hell Hole of a 412 or 212....they are unfit for the job, right?
Right now in Warri, Nigeria, Bristow has four over sixty pilots on the Shell Contract. What is different between there and the Gulf of Mexico with Shell standards?
Since when does one cut pilots for weight when bidding jobs? If the aircraft is too weak to do the task....it is the wrong aircraft....not overweight pilots.
Why not apply the same standards across the board....and chunk them old Hang Belly Mechanics out of the hangar if they cannot fit into the Hell Hole of a 412 or 212....they are unfit for the job, right?
Right now in Warri, Nigeria, Bristow has four over sixty pilots on the Shell Contract. What is different between there and the Gulf of Mexico with Shell standards?
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As far as I know the GOM pilots are getting 1.75 times base pay on workover during the summer, not double. EMS, too will pay 1.75 times as long as the workover takes place at a base that is shortstaffed.
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US federal law prohibits age discrimination in any job, for any reason. If PHI discriminates, regardless of what the customer wants, then a lawsuit will certainly follow, and PHI will certainly lose. The law is very clear, and there is a long history of suits being won by plaintiffs. I'm not certain whether Shell could be found liable, but they would almost certainly be included in the lawsuits.
