Ameriflight Rocks!

[dasleben]

Well it will also cost them millions in better contracts so it's really a coin toss.

I doubt it. "Fair and equitable" with respect to a contract doesn't mean the union automatically gets what it wants and makes the company uncompetitive or unprofitable. If the pilot group would rather take the status-quo and believe the schtick, so be it. I just think you guys are probably leaving money on the table.

 

[Boris Badenov]

In the current Feudal economic climate, unions are only going to be viable in workplaces that are large and visible enough to engender some sort of political support. That ain't Amflight (or any other 135). Strangely, I'm about to join the rolls at the only unionized 135 I've ever heard of...I'll let you know what I find out, but apocryphal reports are not encouraging.

 

[dasleben]

In the current Feudal economic climate, unions are only going to be viable in workplaces that are large and visible enough to engender some sort of political support. That ain't Amflight (or any other 135). Strangely, I'm about to join the rolls at the only unionized 135 I've ever heard of...I'll let you know what I find out, but apocryphal reports are not encouraging.

Cape Air?

I beg to differ, by the way. According to our EXCO leadership, we pilots for an airline nobody-has-ever-heard-of were rather close to being released to cooling off. The company flinched, and we got our TA (whether it passes is another story).

EDIT: Just did a little fact checking; we reached a TA 22 days from the day the strike vote closed. I guarantee it wouldn't have happened without our pilot group standing up and calling the company's bluff.

 

[Boris Badenov]

Is Cape unionized? I had no idea. Good for them. Might begin to explain that fat paycheck you got for flying a clapped out twin cessna, you hack.

 

[dasleben]

Is Cape unionized? I had no idea. Good for them. Might begin to explain that fat paycheck you got for flying a clapped out twin cessna, you hack.

They were actually in contract negotiations while I was there. We kicked the Teamsters off, voted in an in-house, kicked them off, then voted in the Teamsters again. Lots of drama. Last I heard, they're making excellent progress toward a TA.

 

[pullup]

I doubt it. "Fair and equitable" with respect to a contract doesn't mean the union automatically gets what it wants and makes the company uncompetitive or unprofitable. If the pilot group would rather take the status-quo and believe the schtick, so be it. I just think you guys are probably leaving money on the table.

You said it yourself, they are leaving money on the table . Soooo, a company would have to decide, pay the money for a temporary (or not) labor shortage or pay increased recurring costs.

 

[SpiraMirabilis]

Cape Air?

I beg to differ, by the way. According to our EXCO leadership, we pilots for an airline nobody-has-ever-heard-of were rather close to being released to cooling off. The company flinched, and we got our TA (whether it passes is another story).

EDIT: Just did a little fact checking; we reached a TA 22 days from the day the strike vote closed. I guarantee it wouldn't have happened without our pilot group standing up and calling the company's bluff.

Air Methods, which recently bought Omniflight if I had to take a guess.

 

[SpiraMirabilis]

By the way, I heard the same thing when I was at Martinaire. I do know that UPS routes are only a 30 day contract, auto renewing unless Brown takes a disliking to you or someone else shows up saying they'll do it cheaper. (Martinaire and Ameriflight are notorious for this.)

I am not entirely sure it would even be illegal for UPS to have a policy of dropping a feeder if it unionized. The laws protect employee - employer relationships, not contractor contractee relationships.

 

[ppragman]

Probably not. Coincidentally enough, AMF swooped in and underbid them on the UPS contracts.



Heh. Well. I'd have loved it a lot less for $28k/year.

Sounds about right...

 

[SIUav8er]

I have heard rumors that a few years back AMF pilots TRIED to get ALPA to represent them.... ALPA wanted nothing to do with em even though AMF has a larger pilot group than several companies represented by ALPA. Thanks ALPA!

Maybe the UPS pilots would like to help us out? This place will never get a union, if they did, UPS would supposedly drop as many contracts as possible (UPS hates unions as much as AMF supposedly)

 

[DE727UPS]

It seems to me the IPA would have a vested interest in helping the feeders organize (no sarcasm). I'm not sure how the feeders would facilitate that. A few feeder pilots would have to be willing to step forward but that's how the IPA got started in the first place. I would hope the powers that be would remember their roots.

 

[Roger, Roger]

I have heard rumors that a few years back AMF pilots TRIED to get ALPA to represent them.... ALPA wanted nothing to do with em even though AMF has a larger pilot group than several companies represented by ALPA. Thanks ALPA!

I've heard the same thing happened at another freight company.

 

[ppragman]

Look, Amflight is "ok." They don't really pay all that well - even in the 1900 or the Metro its not as good as you'd make at other freight companies flying the same equipment, and they have a schedule that kind of blows (at least it seemed a little sucky to me when I watched guys do it in PDX). The only real advantage of Amflight over other smaller freight companies is you have a quicker upgrade to get your turbine PIC, then you can move onto a "better" job - hopefully. Add to this the stories I've heard of shouting in the training department, and very low pass rates, and it adds up to a place I wouldn't want to know now that I've worked elsewhere. If I didn't have any experience, or was really in need of a job, I'd go there, but if we're gonna compare companies, I'd probably rather go to Flight Express - never heard anything bad about them, and while you wouldn't get into the twin quite so fast, you'd make a little more money - though post Bayside it might be a different story.

 

[z987k]

Look, Amflight is "ok." They don't really pay all that well - even in the 1900 or the Metro its not as good as you'd make at other freight companies flying the same equipment, and they have a schedule that kind of blows (at least it seemed a little sucky to me when I watched guys do it in PDX). The only real advantage of Amflight over other smaller freight companies is you have a quicker upgrade to get your turbine PIC, then you can move onto a "better" job - hopefully. Add to this the stories I've heard of shouting in the training department, and very low pass rates, and it adds up to a place I wouldn't want to know now that I've worked elsewhere. If I didn't have any experience, or was really in need of a job, I'd go there, but if we're gonna compare companies, I'd probably rather go to Flight Express - never heard anything bad about them, and while you wouldn't get into the twin quite so fast, you'd make a little more money - though post Bayside it might be a different story.

The yelling is no longer there(or that guy). I wouldn't have put up with that for more than about 10 seconds... and don't really understand why anyone would.

 

[Boris Badenov]

I'd probably rather go to Flight Express - never heard anything bad about them, and while you wouldn't get into the twin quite so fast, you'd make a little more money - though post Bayside it might be a different story.

I'm obviously biased as an alum, and I have nothing bad to say about FLX, but I'd have a hard time choosing there. You'd make a fair bit more money at FLX, I think (provided you fly a long run), but twin upgrades aren't "longer" anymore, they're pretty much "never".

 

[Inverted]

The yelling is no longer there(or that guy). I wouldn't have put up with that for more than about 10 seconds... and don't really understand why anyone would.

He is still with the company, he just isn't in charge of indoc anymore.

 

[SIUav8er]

he just isn't in charge of indoc anymore.

and thats a shame... indoc was my favorite part of initial training!

 

[z987k]

He is still with the company, he just isn't in charge of indoc anymore.

Or any part of training, unless it's all behind the scenes.

 

[Maurus]

I'm obviously biased as an alum, and I have nothing bad to say about FLX, but I'd have a hard time choosing there. You'd make a fair bit more money at FLX, I think (provided you fly a long run), but twin upgrades aren't "longer" anymore, they're pretty much "never".

These days FLX pilots are bailing for AMF and other cargo operators. FLX is a dieing business. Not to mention the demand for single engine piston time is a little low these days

 

[Inverted]

Or any part of training, unless it's all behind the scenes.

It's behind the scenes.