Originally Posted by FTv3

Honest answer probably not appropriate for a public forum especially in the light of last year’s memo-gate. ”...second guessing investing my career here...,” speaks volumes on my opinion of the company. For the rest of this post I’ll address potential new hires (edit: and only focus on the employee experience):

The job experience, specific to being a union pilot at brown (and this is secondary to the previous paragraph), can’t be stated better than, ‘Best job out there, working for the worst people imaginable,’ kind of thing. Sure, punch your card, go home and don’t think about the place until you have to come back and life will be all good - check. Problems arise when you go back...

Depending on who you are interacting with at the company, they either dislike, despise, or genuinely hate us. If you don’t know why then you haven’t done your homework but in summation: we are not UPSers, we are outsiders cutting the line into a highly compensated position without paying our dues, plain and simple. There’s no sense of team here, no common goal, no pride in the the workplace, just independent workgroup-fiefdoms infighting - the only thing they have in common is a joint disdain for us. IMO on the company (air district) side of things, no one gives a ship, it’s rare to see someone putting in effort to do a good job or taking pride in what they do, etc. In having to interact with all this, it’s just becomes a generally negative, and at times, miserable experience. Not saying other airlines are all unicorns and rainbows, but it’s exceptionally bad here - why subject oneself to multiple decades of it?

The other downside of brown is the strict division of union employees, called hourlies, with all other company positions. Basically, if you’re a motivated, ambitious individual with aspirations to do more than just fly the line during your career your options are limited to union work (if you can get it), a few instructor/training positions, or doing something on the side. Everything else requires forfeiture of your union membership - It’s not like delta where you have union line pilots jumping over and running the flight ops side of the airline. Here, it’s all non union replacement pilots doing this stuff or better stated, making a mess of it all, so there’s essentially no options to progress, develop, expand, try something new, etc., you’re the fry guy and that’s all you’ll ever be if you want to stay here - that’s the company’s attitude about it anyway. Professionally speaking, after years and years of resume improvement, I feel like I’ve largely come to the end of the road at this place.

Last, they just have no respect for the profession. For those who weren’t around, a good example from not too long ago was when they postponed a newhire class at the last minute (just @ 2 weeks prior?). Who does that? Another example is how the security of your license is/can be unnecessarily vulnerable at this place. When $hit happens on the line, you are their scapegoat, the one lined up to be held liable for their mistakes - They’ll vindictively self disclose things to the FAA or allow you to violate yourself as long as they get their boxes moved. Make a mistake, don’t even remotely dream they will be on your side and/or protect you - they’ll help bury you to keep they focus away from them. They’ll terminate comparatively loosely even if they know the union is sure to win the pilot’s job back. Research the furlough, how it all went down - none of that character has changed. Yes, we got contract language in 2016 which will make it more painful for them to furlough in the future but they would do it all over again in the same way if given the chance.

I’ve never been with the, ‘don’t come here,’ camp. You don’t see me complaining or criticizing on here and I’ve tried not to do so on this post. I do believe UPS is a good gig for pilots but holy ship does it have its problems? Is everything else worth enduring these over a long career and can the company survive when times get tough down the road? That’s what I’m questioning.