Pilots who went on strike let go by PHI
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Tough times never last......
Regrettably I am keeping way too busy to participate in the interesting exchange of opinions on this thread.
It's sad that the strike action is still ongoing. All parties would have been well served by trying with a sincere and honest effort to negotiate a new agreement.The pilots in the GOM in general still suffer from sub standard salaries, pensions and insurance schemes. Significant improvements are needed.
The same can be said for SAR resources, radar coverage, communications coverage and other issues relating to Health, Safety and Work Environment.
From a North Sea perspective it's amazing to observe the union hostile attitudes of some pilots. For some pilots, misguided loyalty to the employer leads to the conclusion that it is not worth a fight to try to improve terms and conditions. It is sad how some people show such poor judgement in these tough times for the pilots of Local 108.
With very few if any exceptions, pilots holding positions in companies with a Collective Labour Agreement have better terms and conditions than non union pilots. One exception: In the GOM, non union ERA is shadowing the terms of AirLog and PHI. The rest of the industry also keeps a watchful eye on the GOM, to ensure they can attract and retain pilots. It seems a fair claim that all helicopter pilots in the US to some degree have benefitted from the struggles of the pilots organized through OPEIU.
I am now looking forward to visiting the US for a week. Later today I'll arrive in Memphis, Tennessee for the PHPA conference as well as the IFALPA Helicopter Committee meeting. Of course, in light of me as a European being stamped as a socialist and a communist from the dark continent of Europe, perhaps they will deport me back to the irrelevant continent? Perhaps Macarthyism isn't dead after all? Perhaps democracy and free exchanges of opinion is?
Fire in the hole.....
It's sad that the strike action is still ongoing. All parties would have been well served by trying with a sincere and honest effort to negotiate a new agreement.The pilots in the GOM in general still suffer from sub standard salaries, pensions and insurance schemes. Significant improvements are needed.
The same can be said for SAR resources, radar coverage, communications coverage and other issues relating to Health, Safety and Work Environment.
From a North Sea perspective it's amazing to observe the union hostile attitudes of some pilots. For some pilots, misguided loyalty to the employer leads to the conclusion that it is not worth a fight to try to improve terms and conditions. It is sad how some people show such poor judgement in these tough times for the pilots of Local 108.
With very few if any exceptions, pilots holding positions in companies with a Collective Labour Agreement have better terms and conditions than non union pilots. One exception: In the GOM, non union ERA is shadowing the terms of AirLog and PHI. The rest of the industry also keeps a watchful eye on the GOM, to ensure they can attract and retain pilots. It seems a fair claim that all helicopter pilots in the US to some degree have benefitted from the struggles of the pilots organized through OPEIU.
I am now looking forward to visiting the US for a week. Later today I'll arrive in Memphis, Tennessee for the PHPA conference as well as the IFALPA Helicopter Committee meeting. Of course, in light of me as a European being stamped as a socialist and a communist from the dark continent of Europe, perhaps they will deport me back to the irrelevant continent? Perhaps Macarthyism isn't dead after all? Perhaps democracy and free exchanges of opinion is?
Fire in the hole.....
Sorry but after reading the statement put out by OPEIU president Goodwin my sypathies are entirely with the pilots who are continuing to work.
Trying to take advantage of a tragic accident doesn't go down with me.
Trying to take advantage of a tragic accident doesn't go down with me.
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To me, one of the greatest tragedies of this strike is the rift it has caused between people who would otherwise be good colleagues and friends. Everyone in the company has been forced to decide which side they're on and each decision has come with a personal loss; of friends, of faith, of respect perhaps and even of dignity and honor in some cases. Judging from the enthusiasm with which OPEIU has seized on this crash to bolster their argument I can't help but think that some in the union are quietly hoping for more accidents. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.
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Two-Faced Unionist?
CHC&proud said, " I am now looking forward to visiting the US for a week.......Of course...... perhaps they will deport me back to the irrelevant continent? Perhaps Macarthyism isn't dead after all? Perhaps democracy and free exchanges of opinion is?"
Yea, right, you want "free exchanges of opinion" even though you posted this crap on this very thread: "Any and all negative comments about the strike action are as disloyal as going AWOL during a fire fight - CHC&proud."
Don't you sound a little two-faced, CHC&proud?
Yea, right, you want "free exchanges of opinion" even though you posted this crap on this very thread: "Any and all negative comments about the strike action are as disloyal as going AWOL during a fire fight - CHC&proud."
Don't you sound a little two-faced, CHC&proud?
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http://www.theind.com/news2.asp?CID=-1930746694
I find paragraph #8 interesting. Of course, it could simply be more union propaganda.
I find paragraph #8 interesting. Of course, it could simply be more union propaganda.
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Off the top of my head I can think of at least one other instance where a company is not talking to a union out on strike, and hasn't been talking to them in over a year: Northwest versus their mechanics.
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"from Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy, both generally urging PHI to meet with the OPEIU"
Theres a reason to say no.....What does he have to do with Louisiana, dont they have enough crooked politicians there.
Theres a reason to say no.....What does he have to do with Louisiana, dont they have enough crooked politicians there.
Kennedy committee
It has to do with the committee he sits on:
http://help.senate.gov/./Labor_index.html
Welcome to the Labor Policy section of the HELP Committee website. The HELP Committee jurisdiction encompasses most federal labor and employment laws, including those that regulate wages and hours of employment, enforce mining and workplace health and safety, combat employment-based discrimination, and regulate union / management relations. The Committee also monitors workforce and employment trends, and assists in tailoring federal law and regulation to changing patterns in the workplace. This website contains information on Committee hearings and markups, and provides access to Committee hearing testimony. It also contains links to all federal agencies that are charged with enforcing federal labor and employment laws. We hope you find this website helpful.
http://help.senate.gov/./Labor_index.html
Welcome to the Labor Policy section of the HELP Committee website. The HELP Committee jurisdiction encompasses most federal labor and employment laws, including those that regulate wages and hours of employment, enforce mining and workplace health and safety, combat employment-based discrimination, and regulate union / management relations. The Committee also monitors workforce and employment trends, and assists in tailoring federal law and regulation to changing patterns in the workplace. This website contains information on Committee hearings and markups, and provides access to Committee hearing testimony. It also contains links to all federal agencies that are charged with enforcing federal labor and employment laws. We hope you find this website helpful.
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Nope, PHI and the union are at a stalemate -PHI is hiring new pilots to fill up the ranks and the union is working to gain political support for the strike. PHI has declined to re-enter negotiations, saying in so many words that they believe they can improve staffing levels sufficiently to fulfill their business obligations and that they will not need the services of the pilots still out on strike. Frankly, I don't see PHI doing an about-face on that position anytime soon -if ever.
Een patstelling dus.
Een patstelling dus.
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i4iq that's a good question. I'm not sure what the union can still hope to achieve at this point. Even if they are somehow able to salvage some kind of agreement with PHI out of this mess, their membership is greatly diminished and all chances for an agency shop are now gone (PHI was willing to go to an agency shop during negotiations!). With less than 200 members left out of a pilot workforce of over 500, the union is likely to face a decertification drive next year. By going on strike the union gambled it all and -it appears- lost it all.
sox6, all the new hires are simply people going where the money is. The new pay package puts PHI at or near the top of the industry in both Oil&Gas and EMS.
sox6, all the new hires are simply people going where the money is. The new pay package puts PHI at or near the top of the industry in both Oil&Gas and EMS.
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People ask why being a pilot in the USA is a blue-collar job compared to the rest of the world, well here we have our answer.
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Keep in mind that the SEC filing covers only the period up to September 30th and so only includes the first ten days of the strike. I'm guessing the union was anxiously awaiting this report, hoping it would signal a need for PHI to resume negotiations. However it seems that the financial impact of the strike isn't sufficient at this point to force PHI back to the table. The next financial disclosure will of course show a greater loss but isn't out for another three months, and any negative effect of the strike will by that time be largely offset by the influx of new hires.
I wonder what the union plans to do in the meantime. They have to make themselves part of the process again somehow. As it is, they are on the sidelines and unless they make a move their numbers will dwindle until the last man either quits PHI (and by extension local 108) or goes back to work. What if the union offered to take PHI's last proposal out to a vote? I know it would seem to some like capitulation but it might just be the only alternative to extinction.
The union maintains that there was never a complete proposal to vote on but come on, can they just gather up the implementation package, make sure every article is covered, and call it 'The Proposal'?
I wonder what the union plans to do in the meantime. They have to make themselves part of the process again somehow. As it is, they are on the sidelines and unless they make a move their numbers will dwindle until the last man either quits PHI (and by extension local 108) or goes back to work. What if the union offered to take PHI's last proposal out to a vote? I know it would seem to some like capitulation but it might just be the only alternative to extinction.
The union maintains that there was never a complete proposal to vote on but come on, can they just gather up the implementation package, make sure every article is covered, and call it 'The Proposal'?
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Revo,
I agree with your analysis of the situation. Your suggestion is also quite reasonable. However, despite the fact that the return of most of the striking pilots would give PHI a tremendous shot in the arm, I don’t believe the owner feels he needs us back at this point. He’s had several opportunities and has declined each one (for very flimsy reasons if you ask me). My biased opinion is that it’s just further evidence that his intention all along has been to rid his company of the union, regardless of the cost. I just hope he doesn’t truly believe his own propaganda about the “new PHI.”
-Stan-
I agree with your analysis of the situation. Your suggestion is also quite reasonable. However, despite the fact that the return of most of the striking pilots would give PHI a tremendous shot in the arm, I don’t believe the owner feels he needs us back at this point. He’s had several opportunities and has declined each one (for very flimsy reasons if you ask me). My biased opinion is that it’s just further evidence that his intention all along has been to rid his company of the union, regardless of the cost. I just hope he doesn’t truly believe his own propaganda about the “new PHI.”
-Stan-
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Stan, my opinion is biased, too, since I've cast my lot with the company, for better or worse. But like you I'm trying hard to subject events to as much of a dispassionate analysis as I can muster. Take two steps back and see what you think of this:
The central theme of this strike, that PHI never intended to come to an agreement with the union, and that Al is carrying out a preconceived plan to rid the company of local 108, is a misjudgment of monumental proportions.
For two years, the bargaining comittee has been viewing every discussion with the company through this prism of distrust, causing them, ultimately, to dismiss a very comprehensive (if imperfect) CBA proposal. The 'best and final' offer wasn't just a cynical bargaining tactic, put on the table for show. It mirrors the current implementation package and it's good enough to lure away dozens of pilots from the competition. They know that the extra pay is temporary and will no doubt be reduced by the end of the year and they still sign up eagerly.
The argument that the proposal was incomplete, or that the company didn't ask the negotiating committee to vote on it is bull. Did they have to be asked to vote on it? Couldn't they make that decision independently, like grown-ups? If the proposal lacked certain articles, couldn't they have told the company to make it a complete proposal suitable for voting?
That argument is a cover. It masks the failure of the union negotiating committee to seize a chance to successfully complete its mission. Had they submitted the offer to the membership for a vote, there is a reasonable chance that it would have been ratified, and we would now have both a CBA and a healthy and active union within PHI. Had it been voted down, the union would have gained ammunition to use during continued bargaining. Enough ammunition, likely, to win a contract proposal that would pass a vote.
Instead, the negotiating committee blew right past this opportunity, convinced as they were that any company offer that didn't include the kitchen sink was just a bad faith tactic.
The company agreed to binding arbitration when the union would not. They at one point offered an agency shop (in my mind the single most important concession the company ever made, and one that the negotiating committee should have seized on, even if it meant giving up on some other items). Those are not just bargaining tactics. They reflect a genuine will to make it work if you ask me.
Take a leap of faith, Stan, and consider for a minute the possibility that PHI did indeed make a sincere effort at reaching an agreement with the union.
So what is the way forward? Local 108 is still the authorized bargaining agent. They still have the power to ratify a CBA which includes their right to exist. There's nothing PHI can do about that. Rhetoric aside, Al can't actually bust the union. But the union sure as hell can self-destruct.
The central theme of this strike, that PHI never intended to come to an agreement with the union, and that Al is carrying out a preconceived plan to rid the company of local 108, is a misjudgment of monumental proportions.
For two years, the bargaining comittee has been viewing every discussion with the company through this prism of distrust, causing them, ultimately, to dismiss a very comprehensive (if imperfect) CBA proposal. The 'best and final' offer wasn't just a cynical bargaining tactic, put on the table for show. It mirrors the current implementation package and it's good enough to lure away dozens of pilots from the competition. They know that the extra pay is temporary and will no doubt be reduced by the end of the year and they still sign up eagerly.
The argument that the proposal was incomplete, or that the company didn't ask the negotiating committee to vote on it is bull. Did they have to be asked to vote on it? Couldn't they make that decision independently, like grown-ups? If the proposal lacked certain articles, couldn't they have told the company to make it a complete proposal suitable for voting?
That argument is a cover. It masks the failure of the union negotiating committee to seize a chance to successfully complete its mission. Had they submitted the offer to the membership for a vote, there is a reasonable chance that it would have been ratified, and we would now have both a CBA and a healthy and active union within PHI. Had it been voted down, the union would have gained ammunition to use during continued bargaining. Enough ammunition, likely, to win a contract proposal that would pass a vote.
Instead, the negotiating committee blew right past this opportunity, convinced as they were that any company offer that didn't include the kitchen sink was just a bad faith tactic.
The company agreed to binding arbitration when the union would not. They at one point offered an agency shop (in my mind the single most important concession the company ever made, and one that the negotiating committee should have seized on, even if it meant giving up on some other items). Those are not just bargaining tactics. They reflect a genuine will to make it work if you ask me.
Take a leap of faith, Stan, and consider for a minute the possibility that PHI did indeed make a sincere effort at reaching an agreement with the union.
So what is the way forward? Local 108 is still the authorized bargaining agent. They still have the power to ratify a CBA which includes their right to exist. There's nothing PHI can do about that. Rhetoric aside, Al can't actually bust the union. But the union sure as hell can self-destruct.
Last edited by Revolutionary; 10th Nov 2006 at 19:49.