What union would represent a place like FlightSafety? I was curious since there has been some talk around the work place, and other centers. I imagine a union like ALPA wouldn't be appropriate given the type of company.

 

Any union would. It would be a great business venture with a never ending stream of income from a percentage of everyone's income and the best part is it doesn't matter if they like it or not.


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Most sim centers are in right-to-work states (Texas and Florida) where employees could opt out of union membership if desired.

 

Do you need them more than they need you? Hard to imagine a union even being needed, I would think most would just move on to greener pastures.

 

Unions suck...first hand knowledge. You don't want them at FSI. We are a Team here to get the job done. A Union would make a "us" against "them" situation making the atmosphere horrible.

 

You can opt out of Union membership anywhere. However if there's a contract in place, you still have to pay an "agency fee" which is almost equal to dues.

Why? Because you're benefitting from the Union contract work rules and pay rates. Essentially you get to pay the dues without being able to vote or have any input into the Union.

 

I have first hand knowledge too, and I have to disagree with your statement. FSI has had two layoffs since 2000 that were employee separations not furloughs. a union would help protect from that situation. Also, being a "Team to get the job done" shouldn't mean you get paid $20,000 less than your peers at competing companies,and get treated poorly. FSI is unable to hire people so 6 on 1 off is becoming common place or constant changing on-call schedule. Raises are about 2% or less. They are unable to hire more than attrition, and they are unwilling to do what it takes to attract new people or retain the current employees.

Its not an "us" vs "them" scenario. It's a " I want to work here for a long time, so please commit yourself to me too" scenario. "Families" and "Teams" shouldn't have members or players that get treated like crap.

I've worked for companies that didn't have a union and didn't need one. I've worked for a union company that absolutely needed one. FSI is becoming a company that doesn't have a union, but is at the point where it needs one. Go to Glassdoor and read some reviews if you don't believe me. Its a sad state of affairs at FSI, and leadership is void. Sucks.

 

I was at SAV about 10 years ago. First day of indoc, the assistant center manager gave his "right to work state" speech to us and gloated about firing some "union troublemakers" to keep the facility union free. Set a real welcoming tone.

After settling in, I started hearing snippets of discontent over schedules, extra work, loss of retirement benefits, few and far between raises. While the worker folks were very nice and friendly, the whole place had a look over your shoulder before talking vibe, and everyone would go to great lengths to avoid the scheduling office.

I'm glad I left. I most likely would have been let go in the 2008 downturn and have TRIPLED my income since then ($70K salary in 2006).

It's a shame,it could be a really nice place to work. From the recent posts nothing has improved since I was there.

 

That's not how I understand Right to Work rules. This is my understanding:

"If you work primarily in a Right to Work state, except on certain federal property, you not only have the right to refrain from becoming a union member, you cannot be required to pay dues or an agency fee to the union unless you choose to join the union."

Source: Can I be required to be a union member or pay dues to a union? | National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

Note: I have yet to see an interpretation that employees of a Part 142 sim center fall under the RLA (which requires agency fees). The agency fee isn't mandatory for employment under NLRA in a Right to Work state.

 

Fred you and I were probably around at the same time. I was there 8 yrs ago, and left about 24 months ago. Dallas, though. As you know, lots depends on the program manager and the ability to "play nice" with that person. I watched people get fired for self disclosing errors. In my mind it was a culture of punishment rather than a just culture. Lots of sweeping mistakes under the rug to retain jobs.

FSI never says "no" to a client even if it means cancelling vacations or days off. You mean you didn't know you needed international procedures when you scheduled this type rating six months ago? No problem. We've got an instructor. Oh, CRM for one? Normally we need six people for that class but we'll teach it. You can just read the slides and skip the exercises and discussions....