Originally Posted by
Davetastic
If Atlas is so pathetic why don't you leave? (rhetorical). In other words, Atlas is working for you right now so that is why Atlas is the best option for YOU....currently. If you have your apps out then obviously Atlas is a second choice. If you'd rather be at a regional or a 135 or another 121 and have applied but the phone isn't ringing ......." a bird in the hand.....". I am not going to come on this forum and say a candidate should do this or that because I have no idea what is driving a particular persons decision making. Atlas works for ME and me alone for my particular situation. If any one of a multitude of variables changes in my situation then I will re-evaluate my decisions. I'll give my experience about Atlas but I will never say to anyone what they should or shouldn't do because it will all have been based on my life components and not someones else's.
To pull out the old hack of "if it's so bad, why don't you just leave" is an extremely insulting and antagonistic thing to say to fellow pilots. It is totally appropriate to complain about the job I have AND warn others about coming to work at Atlas. There are many, many pilots trying to leave and who will leave when they get the chance, but because they haven't yet left that is by no means an endorsement of the company nor is it a reason to suggest that Atlas applicants should come here to work. Sometimes the people in a burning building are stuck there and cant break the window to jump, or want to wait for the firemen to bring the net, or believe it will eventually rain, but that doesn't mean that they would recommend that you take the elevator up to their office for an interview.
Unionism is not about helping yourself, it's all about helping out the group, including the group of guys that are trying to establish careers for themselves. In the long run, helping out the group IS helping yourself. Yes, you can say that any job is better than none, but that is not necessarily true. The future of Atlas is VERY uncertain right now and in the next year, a new hire may very well: 1. be furloughed, 2. be on strike, 3. be fired because of training issues, or 4. miss the hiring wave at other, more stable and rewarding airlines, etc., etc.
People come to these boards to get information and opinions. The current information contains facts that point to Atlas being a very bad place to work based on many, many popular and important factors. So if you "will never say to anyone what they should or shouldn't do" that is your prerogative, but that doesn't give you the right to criticize others for trying to help aspiring applicants make informed decisions.
Originally Posted by
Davetastic
... I come to work, the company follows the contract. When they don't, I decline to accept new pattern. Period. I have never been called in the the Chiefs office for declining. I have never flown with a crew that has had such a difference of opinion that has made it unsafe or "toxic". And if your opinion of a "toxic" work environment doesn't mean unsafe then how can it be SOOOO toxic"?
Dave I know you've only been here two years or so and you are certainly entitled to your opinion but, as they say, you are not entitled to your own facts. Atlas does not follow the contract. Every day, there are scheduling issues, payroll issues, hotel issues, travel issues, training issues, catering issues, etc., etc. Every day. And these are not mistakes, it is a systemic culture within Atlas operations to disregard our contract. We have had this contract for five years and they STILL violate it on a daily basis. The sad part is that many pilots never know their contractual rights are being violated. The other sad part is that the company could fix most all of these violations very easily.
But the most egregious violation that we live with every day is the company's refusal to continue section 6 contract negotiations. This failure is costing you time, health, and a lot of pay every day, and yet you somehow cannot bring yourself to bring this paramount issue to the attention of Atlas applicants. That's fine if you have some real reason for keeping yourself out of that discussion, but you have spent the last 12 posts criticizing others for bringing this and other problems to the attention of applicants while defending your own position that things aren't so bad here.
The stress caused by Atlas management's refusal to follow our contract, to negotiate in good faith, and their recent decision to sue us, their own employees, is what is creating the toxic work environment, not interpersonal issues among the crews. Airline pilots are constantly trained to mitigate problems and reduce cockpit stress. Unfortunately, the decisions made by the management group at Atlas have increased this stress exponentially.
Safety is no longer their number one concern.
Money is.
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