PHL_Approach
Well-Known Member
Has anyone at a Regional ever been blocked or known someone who is was blocked from being hired at a partner carrier? I'm almost certain it just happened to myself and as well as several of my co-workers. I'm going to try to not mention my carriers name. Some may have already been able to piece together where I'm at or maybe even seen me drop the companies name... It all started about last Jan/Feb when Delta posted a hiring. We had several folks apply from varying backgrounds and experience levels. Anywhere from 3 years to 8 years and some with degrees. Some from the CRJ side and some from the ERJ side. Now the CRJ side is connected to DL and the ERJ side is not. Usually more often than not the CRJ side gets a few people picked up due to their roots with DL. ERJ side had been operating severely shorthanded at the time of the opening and had for a year prior as well.
Moving on, it wasn't long before a rumor trickled down and onto the floor that the Management picked up their Bat Phone and spoke with Commissioner Gordon
down at Delta (we have many high ups in our management that are Delta retirees so they still have connections and strings at DL) and straight up told them "DO NOT hire any of our ERJ dispatchers because we are understaffed". Three of our ERJ dispatchers wound up getting interviews after passing the tests. None of them got it. A few more tested but did not get past that to interview. I think about three CRJ dispatchers got hired... Coincidence?
Ok, well we had to move on. No evidence of such block happening. Out of our hands. I felt bad for the people that applied and felt something shady happened but I didn't care as much since I didn't apply (didn't meet the min reqs).
So fast forward to mid September. As some may know, United posted openings for a class. I met reqs and put in for it as did about 5 ERJ dispatchers and 1 CRJ dispatcher (all that I know of).Everyone that I know of had internal recommendations from dispatchers both sCO and sUA including myself. Exactly a month later I get contacted by United "Talent Acquisition" for an interview at Willis Tower in two weeks. I go out by an incredible suit, and get real cleaned up cause after all to me this is the interview of a lifetime. At this point United had been my #1 Goal for a year or so. I fly up, interview. Did good on the test even though they did say this is not graded and it's just a knowledge test but when they went over it in front of me. I did just fine. Then the panel... Which I feel I also did great in. Felt extremely confident. After all I know I had to, since like I said. This was a very important interview to me. So this was right at the end of October and by this time there were ramblings that the class would start January 7th. WEEKS go by. Nothing. I start hearing word from friends (you know everyone knows someone though a friend or whatever) that a former co-worker of hers got called for the job. Then I hear indirectly of another two people that get picked up. All three of these first three people were from defunct regionals that went under in the same month. Good timing for me....
Still nothing weeks and weeks later. Then I hear of someone else getting a call. A co-worker used to work with this guy at his last regional. I still did not loose any hope... Not until I get that No call or email. Oh wait, gotta back it up. I decided to call my assigned HR rep around the first week of December and after days of not being able to get a hold of her she picks up and was really shocked that interviews had been going on since October. But she assured me "Calls will be going out next week (2nd week of December)". Even though I know some got calls. But she does say "You'll get a call even if you are unsuccessful, the hiring manager will be calling all applicants that interviewed and didn't get it and will tell you why you were unsuccessful". Ok well that's at least nice of them to learn what you did wrong. Yea... that didn't happen and class starts tomorrow (January 7th).
Getting back on track now. Really nothing after that call to her but like I said I still wasn't losing my hope. But through it all. Out of those people that applied from my company. I have anywhere from 1/4th to 1/8th of their experience and yet I was the only one to get an interview... Maybe I was lucky? Who knows. A coworker that applied whom like me UA has also been his goal for a long time and he applies to every Dispatch opening there got to thinking with me that it all comes back to that so called blocked Delta hiring. At first I said no way. But just a few weeks ago I rang my recommendation in dispatch up there and asked in if he heard anything about other people being hired. He said no, however he said "The rumors are rampant on the floor up here that [my company] called United and told them don't hire any of our dispatchers". I just find it hard to believe that after all this time, the whole blocked rumor that had been at our company stretched to the United NOC. There really is no true bridge... Me thinks that someone in United management is likely friends with a dispatcher and told them that and then it pretty much hit the floor. But the moment I heard that. It both infuriated me and saddened me. Granted, I really shouldn't put this past my company because my boss has been heard saying "I've got to get a contact at United like we have at Delta"
Of course a company that is a contractor for a larger desirable company can easily tell big brother "Don't hire our dispatchers or maintenance controllers because we can't afford to loose any". When I first started here, Delta hired a ton of mechanics from the Main hangar at a hub. Said regional was stretched so thin after DL hired all those guys that they had to lease them back from the mother ship. Rumor has it from mechanics still working in the hangar that DL has not hired a single mechanic from this regional since that incident. Sorry the story got so long. But has anyone at all ever thought that a regional could just continually tell a major don't hire our people and even though I'm almost certain that is a massive violation of labor laws there just is no evidence or proof that it happened. I just feel like I don't know what to do. I really never wanted to go from a regional to a regional since my company has pretty good pay and going to another regional would mean a cut. But I meant at this point... at least those other regionals don't block their employees from excelling in their craft and continuing to climb the ladder. And also sorry I kind of don't feel like proofreading. Gotta get some shuteye. Oh and not that I have any desire to go there. But you can add AA to the list of airlines we'll be blacklisted from.
Signed,
A very disgruntled, hopeless, Regional Dispatcher
Moving on, it wasn't long before a rumor trickled down and onto the floor that the Management picked up their Bat Phone and spoke with Commissioner Gordon
down at Delta (we have many high ups in our management that are Delta retirees so they still have connections and strings at DL) and straight up told them "DO NOT hire any of our ERJ dispatchers because we are understaffed". Three of our ERJ dispatchers wound up getting interviews after passing the tests. None of them got it. A few more tested but did not get past that to interview. I think about three CRJ dispatchers got hired... Coincidence?Ok, well we had to move on. No evidence of such block happening. Out of our hands. I felt bad for the people that applied and felt something shady happened but I didn't care as much since I didn't apply (didn't meet the min reqs).
So fast forward to mid September. As some may know, United posted openings for a class. I met reqs and put in for it as did about 5 ERJ dispatchers and 1 CRJ dispatcher (all that I know of).Everyone that I know of had internal recommendations from dispatchers both sCO and sUA including myself. Exactly a month later I get contacted by United "Talent Acquisition" for an interview at Willis Tower in two weeks. I go out by an incredible suit, and get real cleaned up cause after all to me this is the interview of a lifetime. At this point United had been my #1 Goal for a year or so. I fly up, interview. Did good on the test even though they did say this is not graded and it's just a knowledge test but when they went over it in front of me. I did just fine. Then the panel... Which I feel I also did great in. Felt extremely confident. After all I know I had to, since like I said. This was a very important interview to me. So this was right at the end of October and by this time there were ramblings that the class would start January 7th. WEEKS go by. Nothing. I start hearing word from friends (you know everyone knows someone though a friend or whatever) that a former co-worker of hers got called for the job. Then I hear indirectly of another two people that get picked up. All three of these first three people were from defunct regionals that went under in the same month. Good timing for me....
Still nothing weeks and weeks later. Then I hear of someone else getting a call. A co-worker used to work with this guy at his last regional. I still did not loose any hope... Not until I get that No call or email. Oh wait, gotta back it up. I decided to call my assigned HR rep around the first week of December and after days of not being able to get a hold of her she picks up and was really shocked that interviews had been going on since October. But she assured me "Calls will be going out next week (2nd week of December)". Even though I know some got calls. But she does say "You'll get a call even if you are unsuccessful, the hiring manager will be calling all applicants that interviewed and didn't get it and will tell you why you were unsuccessful". Ok well that's at least nice of them to learn what you did wrong. Yea... that didn't happen and class starts tomorrow (January 7th).
Getting back on track now. Really nothing after that call to her but like I said I still wasn't losing my hope. But through it all. Out of those people that applied from my company. I have anywhere from 1/4th to 1/8th of their experience and yet I was the only one to get an interview... Maybe I was lucky? Who knows. A coworker that applied whom like me UA has also been his goal for a long time and he applies to every Dispatch opening there got to thinking with me that it all comes back to that so called blocked Delta hiring. At first I said no way. But just a few weeks ago I rang my recommendation in dispatch up there and asked in if he heard anything about other people being hired. He said no, however he said "The rumors are rampant on the floor up here that [my company] called United and told them don't hire any of our dispatchers". I just find it hard to believe that after all this time, the whole blocked rumor that had been at our company stretched to the United NOC. There really is no true bridge... Me thinks that someone in United management is likely friends with a dispatcher and told them that and then it pretty much hit the floor. But the moment I heard that. It both infuriated me and saddened me. Granted, I really shouldn't put this past my company because my boss has been heard saying "I've got to get a contact at United like we have at Delta"
Of course a company that is a contractor for a larger desirable company can easily tell big brother "Don't hire our dispatchers or maintenance controllers because we can't afford to loose any". When I first started here, Delta hired a ton of mechanics from the Main hangar at a hub. Said regional was stretched so thin after DL hired all those guys that they had to lease them back from the mother ship. Rumor has it from mechanics still working in the hangar that DL has not hired a single mechanic from this regional since that incident. Sorry the story got so long. But has anyone at all ever thought that a regional could just continually tell a major don't hire our people and even though I'm almost certain that is a massive violation of labor laws there just is no evidence or proof that it happened. I just feel like I don't know what to do. I really never wanted to go from a regional to a regional since my company has pretty good pay and going to another regional would mean a cut. But I meant at this point... at least those other regionals don't block their employees from excelling in their craft and continuing to climb the ladder. And also sorry I kind of don't feel like proofreading. Gotta get some shuteye. Oh and not that I have any desire to go there. But you can add AA to the list of airlines we'll be blacklisted from.
Signed,
A very disgruntled, hopeless, Regional Dispatcher
