Originally Posted by
N993T
I apologize in advance if this rambles, but I'm going to try to separate the truth from some of the half-truths and falsehoods being spread here.
First a question, because I don't know the answer. How many Part 135 EAS carriers out there are paying 100% of employee benefits? I'm guessing that now the Boutique doesn't, nobody does. If I'm wrong, let me know.
So it is true that Boutique notified the company via email that benefits are being reduced. The numbers in the previous posts are correct. It can certainly be argued that more notice would have been nice-I wouldn't dispute that.
What followed were several comments, sent to the ENTIRE COMPANY, that ranged from well thought out to flat out inappropriate. Most, if not all, came from pilots, BTW. The cuts affect the entire company, not just us.
The response from the CEO was not a nasty gram. It was a hastily written, poorly worded apology and explanation of why this had to be done (there is no requirement to agree with him). The quote in a previous thread about resignation is correct but completely out of context here. I have read it and re-read it. I wasn't offended.
What is not mentioned here at all is that it was followed up with an email from the #2 saying that comments were welcome, but please make them privately, not to the entire company. No mention of that here. This is a reasonable request, people.
There is no question in my mind that this is the first chink in the armor of what until now seemed to be a rock solid company. But it isn't nearly as big a deal as is being portrayed here. I'm sure there will be some people leaving over this, but if they can't yet go to a regional they will likely find that the grass isn't any greener wherever they land.
There are no guarantees in life. Will Boutique still be here in 6 months? A year? I don't know. But they are trying to run a business and they made what I am sure was a difficult business decision. They had to know that there would be backlash.
Responding like children doesn't make things better.