PHI Union meeting  

unions never fix anything. facts.

all they do is make workers lazy or lazier.

Lessee... From my memory and anecdotal, unless yopu were there.

PHI, multiple attempts to organize pilots. Those active in the first few efforts terminated or assigned to BFE bases.

But, why would PHI Gulf pilots be motivated, eventually, for collective representation and bargainning? Because the head shed often lied and wasn't even smart about it- The LFT base pilots schmoozed scheduling and took holidays that line guys could not. I guess sharing a base with 5 & 2 pilots made it hard to deny everybody holidays....

But scheduling denied that to the Intracoastal base pilots, who often covered the LFT base and knew everybody there and their schedules. When this was brought to the meeting between the headshed staff and ICY pilots, they coudn't answer that. 

Job openings were filled by favoritism, familiarity with the scheduling staff, not by bidding. One could live in LFT and bid on openings for a decade while scheduling buddies dropped right in to LFT slots.

The headshed told pilots their salary was confidential, an agreement solely between LFt and you. One could, in theory, be terminated for sharing that data. But when holiday or overttime compensation was due you, you submitted according the schedule in a book in the lead pilots desk, by hire date. Ones hire date was not secret, so everybody and their cousin knew your salary.

I knew some exceptionally hard working pilots while I flew the Gulf. I knew some who were effing useless. Most just did their job. When the time came to discipline bad behavior, those with stroke walked with a slap on the rest and those who weren't favorites took it in the guts. I've heard a couple regional managers talking about 'getting' somebody they didn't like- no contractual process involved.

Are unions perfect? Nop, they consist of people and no one is perfect. A lot of people fail when they are in psoitions of responsibility and union locals can be exteremly bureaucratic and self interested if the membership doesn't keep them on their toes...

And now we're down to the nasty little secret in organizing- often, when the first contract is negotiated, the membership has what t wants, temporarily at least, and makes statements like "I expect the executive to take care of business, not me. That's why I pay dues..." But the executive can do very, very little without a solid membership. The management side generally has a very good idea of backing of the local and they know that it takes effort to herd the cats that are the pilot membership. So, the head shed screws people over until they're called to account by the local.

Some of the victims will win lawsuits, but that takes years. And why would anybody want to work with those who will step on their backs to get what they want at that moment?