The Long and the...uh, Long Of It  

This is a little long, so you short-attention-span types who have trouble concentrating on anything longer than a meme should just add a snarky comment and X-out of this post.

Trying to start a union at WW or RLC would be a foolish move. Helicopter pilots will often *say* they want a union. But they don't really mean it.  They'll complain about their current situation, but they don't really want to do anything to upset it. None of them will publicly come out and support the union. They'll tell you privately that they support the drive, but they can't...you know...be open about it, too much to risk, you know - I have a wife and kids! 

Some of the "supporters" will actually be rats who scurry back to management and report on the progress of the organizing drive...who the leaders are and what the basic demands are going to be.  I used to think that helicopter pilots were pretty good guys. What a dope I was. During the PHI organizing drive in the mid-1990's, we saw this kind of spying-to-curry-favor-with-management many times.  Sometimes their identity was known; sometimes it was a surprise. But we almost always found out who they were.  It was truly heartbreaking at first, until I came to the very obvious conclusion that helicopter pilots are basically selfish sc*mbags.  That's pretty harsh, I know.  And you'll think, "Oh no, not *me!*   That's right: You're the good guy.  It's all those *other* ones. Right. Gotcha. On the other hand, there were guys who were very anti-union.  I had long discussions with some of them, and they voiced their opinions about why they felt as they did.  I respected those guys - at least they stood up for what they believed.

By the way, forget about ALPA.  ALPA doesn't want to deal with puny helicopter pilots.  They wouldn't even return our calls.  Only the OPEIU was willing to spend the time, money and resources to represent us with no guarantee of success.  I'll give them that.  

First day of contract negotiations, PHI's highly-paid, infamous union-busting lawyer opened the day's session by launching into a long, loud, childish vitriolic rant about how we were NEVER! going to see a signed contract!  NEVER!  I looked over at the PHI table - guys I'd known and worked with and respected for nearly 15 years, and I knew how embarrassed they must have been (at least, I hoped they were).  When the guy was done, the OPEIU rep launched into a childish tirade of his own. I sat back, deflated already, realizing what a terrible mistake I'd made.  These people were not grown adults - they were children.

The entire story is long and complicated. We *did* eventually hammer out a contract.  And that's all I ever wanted. I'm sure the other guys from both sides who were "in on it" back then have their own stories to tell. But what I came away with is this: I'm still a strong believer in the importance of employees having representation, especially in so-called "at-will" states.  But, helicopter pilot unions?  It's not worth the aggravation and trouble. It's not an industry populated by adults. (Read some of the threads on this board if you need convincing.)  And, from talking with my friends in the industry, it's STILL not!  Look, if you're unhappy where you are, just go find yourself a "better" job (heh).  Maybe you can find a job herding cats for a living. That would undoubtedly be more rewarding and more successful than trying to organize helicopter pilots.

I warned you it was long.