hydra

NetJets management has sent communications to the Union and pilot group that if the pilots picket in Omaha during the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, management will withdraw from interim bargaining. In other words, no pay or QOL improvements.

Av8rg8r

If company management doesn't want to see us in Omaha, then they need to get their butts in gear at the negotiating table. When the company pulls out from IBI 2023, then they will lose almost half their pilots (and most of their new hires). Good luck explaining to the aircraft owners why they can't get pilots to fly their planes. But hey, at least AJ has his backup job lined up, right?

obiden

Programmed much?
You're a fool to believe half or even 1/3 of the pilots would leave if this IBI was scrapped. Do yourself a favor and unplug from the union forum for a while. You forgot about the contract expiration date. Stop worshipping Pedro and maybe you'll realize the union has no leg to stand on in this "negotiation" other than childishly "shutting this MFer down" and "running it into the ground" as many have threatened.

golikhel

Good luck, but you already work less and make more than any other 135 operator. I hope you can raise the bar again.

Av8rg8r

I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you're management at the company, and from the sound of it, completely out of touch with what a large portion of the pilots are actually wanting and saying. You also sound way too defensive about the whole situation.

My personal perspective: I would love to see the company grow, and for NJ to stay at the top of the heap as the premier 91K/135 operator. The job itself is different than flying for a 121 operator, and has it's perks and drawbacks. Personally, I like the job, and would love to stay at the company for the foreseeable future. In order for me to not jump jobs, the job has to stay reasonably attractive enough to not warrant the pain of going elsewhere and starting at the bottom of a seniority list again.

I don't know the details of what's going on between the union and the company, or what has transpired over the past few years. I know when I was hired, it appeared that the union and the company had a good working relationship, and that made me happy, as I dealt with employer/employee relationship issues at the last few jobs I was in. However, as of late, the communications coming from the company have smelled a lot more like BS than the communications coming from the union, and when the company gets caught in lies in their own communications, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Especially when the company expects us as pilots to be honest and forthright in our communications with the company (pilots have been fired for dishonesty). I mean, after all, you're trusting us to fly around equipment worth millions to hundreds of millions of dollars, and extremely high net worth individuals. So, who's emails and communications do I trust more right now? It should be obvious.

So, here's what I see:
- A company that has plans to grow significantly (I'm on board with this, btw)
- An incredibly tight hiring market for pilots, especially those who meet the hiring minimums for r-ATP. Add to this the significant increase in pay being offered at all of the 121 operations.
- New hires leaving the company at twice the rate of people retiring
- even more new hires who are watching this IBI closely, and have verbally said they'll leave for greener pastures if the company walks from IBI, or if the contract isn't good enough.

What does NJ bring to the table that differentiates it from 121 operations? A few things, for starters. Homebasing for everyone is arguably pretty big. Not everyone wants to live in or near an airline hub, and the thought of commuting for the airlines (and crashpads, etc) is pretty distasteful for most. Additionally, having the option of a set schedule for an entire year can be attractive for quite a few people. However, these perks (and others) at some point lose their luster for many when the airlines start waiving around as much money as they have been and will be for some time. Netjets has already tried to mitigate the impact of airline money by opening up homebasing to everyone, including new hires (as opposed to the crew basing system that was in place for everyone hired after Jan 2020), and by lowering the hiring minimums several times over the last few years. What about FDP money? Not a bad idea, and it did it's job to get metal moving on a regular basis. The danger there is two-fold. One, there are pilots who will second-guess a fatigue or maintenance call because it will impact their earnings. The other issue is the disparity in FDP between fleets. A new hire going to the Phenom, Latitude, or 350 will have a much better paycheck than one going to the XLS or the Sovereign. When that soft money doesn't appear in their paycheck, that's a cause for concern, and I personally hope they didn't plan their budget around anything other than base salary.

So, does it sound like I'm just drinking the union kool-aid? The union's leverage has much more to do with taking advantage of outside market forces than "throwing a fit and threatening to burn the place to the ground". Please. What's concerning is that in going into the IBI process, which consisted of a mutual agreement on both sides to do so, is that the company seems to have consistently drug it's heels in the ground and been slow to act or work with the union. The company needs to be competitive in hiring in order to continue growth, and in order to do so, it needs to pay the cash to hire and retain talent. Hell, the Berkshire Hathaway 2022 annual report even addressed the issue: "We need qualified personnel to manage and operate our various businesses. ... Our inability to recruit, train, and retain qualified and competent managers and personnel could negatively affect the operating results, financial condition and liquidity of our subsidiaries and Berkshire as a whole."

Av8rg8r

My earlier post somehow was never allowed up? Whatever. I'm not typing the whole thing out again.

Pervis

What’s worse? The threat of ending IBB negotiations or the threat of about a thousand pilots packing into the convention center in OMA? Management, or anyone else for that matter, start throwing Hail Marys when the game is near its end. The EMT does not want to be the ones to be the cause of that embarrassment for Uncle Warren. If that happens, many will retreat to spend more time with their young families.

Pervis

I just tried to make a post about ending IBB vs a legal presence in OMA as an A share stockholder and it was blocked. Whatever.

Deserthusker

If you are replying to Ob-iden you will most likely get blocked. His screen name sets off filters. Good way to not have people respond to you. Not sure if it was planned.

Av8rg8r

If I'd known that, I wouldn't have quoted him. Oh well, it was a helluva post too.