Air Methods Pilots Vote Yes!

[Blackbeard]

Dear ####,

A democracy is a democracy, and for your information the Canadian Government regulary gets elected with less than 50% of the eligible vote. This institution has a major impact on all our lives. Yet we still call it a democracy.

You will not find a more true democracy than voting for a union. At least it requires more than 50% of all eligble voters. For those who do not like the ideaology of democracy there are places in Africa and the Middle East - MSS is waiting I believe.

Your thoughts wage increases are intriguing. By your way of thinking there should be no pay increases so we can avoid paying more tax. Therefore everyone should be earning a wage equivalent to that of 20, 50 or even 100 years ago.

You may not be aware that the Canadian CPI (Consumer Price Index) is forecasted to rise by 2.8% this fiscal year. Therefore, merely to stay even we all need pay increases of close to 3%.

If you want more justification as to why some of us feel an association is necessary then check out "Southof the border's' latest post about looking for a contract lawyer. Perhaps you also missed the 'CHC Shaft' thread that was very active recently.

All that being said your comments and opinion are welcome. There is always room for debate in any subject, and all view points should be aired.

[HeloTeacher]

Given my past experience with the unions, they tend to cost me more than they have achieved. While I do intend to send my dues to Butch upon return to Canada, I am doing it to suport the association of the PHPA, not unionization of the Canadian helicopter industry. A forum for both pilots and engineers to exchange corporate knowledge, culture, and timely information will be an enormous asset to all of us.

 

Remember, for every unscrupulous operator out there we have more than a few pilots who refuse to lift an extra finger or expend a moments thought on trying to do a little extra to get the job done more efficiently or just plain better than the competition. I'm disappointed that lately I hear 'that's not my job' a lot more often from younger pilots when the old-timers recognize that, yes, it is our job.

 

I will also continue to watch with care what happens south of the border in the unionized operations to see what the long term results are. Again, past experience has shown me too many incompetents who hide behind their 'brotherhood' to stay employed when they shouldn't be.

 

I hope that they can achieve good results without bringing in all that can go wrong with a unionized operation, and as long as they do I will support them. The opposite will also be true.

[cyclic monkey]

All good points, but when is someone actually going to do something more than just talk about it ??????

 

For now I’ll do some talking too. Please bear with me, read the questions I pose, and send in your thoughts.

 

First, some background. My employer looks after myself and the guys I work with better than anyone else in Canada, so I don’t NEED an Association, and I certainly don’t need or WANT a Union (i.e. the right to strike).

However, I came very close to starting an Association last year for the benefit of all the other guys in our business that are not looked after as well as myself. I did not proceed because I got the feeling from my boss (who I have a great relationship with) that an “Association” started by one of his employees would send some incorrect and unfair messages about how his staff are treated. So I left it for someone else to do.

And, here we are today………Blah, Blah, Blah,……lots of talk, no action, are we that far apart in what we want ??

 

 

This forum topic is about the Air Methods pilots joining a Union. Is that what you want ????????

That’s easy to arrange, just look in the Yellow Pages under Labour Organisations and they’ll come swarming around before you’ve had a chance to put the phone down.

 

But as the old saying goes, “be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it.”

Can you envisage yourself walking around outside your hangar carrying a picket-sign and singing ‘We Shall Not Be Moved’???? Oh by the way, you voted to accept the 10% pay raise and life insurance deal that was offered, but 51% of your fellow pilots wanted more, so being a good brother, you have to support the majority, and march the picket-lines with them. Oh, don’t forget to physically block the AMEs from entering the hangar !! Just wait until the strike is over and you have to go to the bush with those guys !! Is it worth the raise??? Right there is a good reason to include AMEs into your group.

 

The CHC parts department in Newfoundland is unionized and went on strike last week. Meanwhile, the CHC mother corp. announced their quarterly results and said some earnings were decreased due to a “pilot’s dispute” in Norway. That sounds very one-sided. Isn’t a dispute between two parties ??? Is that how you wish to be portrayed in the media. Is that the sort of relationship you want with your employer??

 

Okay, so maybe it’s just a Professional Association that you want. That would be easy to do. (I know because of how close I came last year). Would you affiliate yourself with the HAC as a “pilot committee”, or stand apart (and possibly be seen as adversarial from the start)??

Would you join up with PHPA that is mentioned in the Association Vote forum topic???

It’s a pretty fancy ID card you get. Butch Grafton has done a lot of hard work to get that group where it is today. But did you notice how close that “association” follows the news of the gradual unionization of American helicopter companies. Is that what you want in Canada?

 

(Sorry, Butch, it’s not a shot at you or your group, but there are some tough questions to be asked here. Because the Canadian and US industries are quite different in their nature, what may work in Louisiana may not work in Alberta. For example, I believe there were 541 eligible pilots in the Air Methods vote, and we don’t have companies anywhere near that size).

 

Consider that whoever starts a group is the Founding President and can set up whatever he wants, then see if others want to join, then (probably) a committee forms to run it democratically after that, either in the same direction, or off on a new tangent, but only if that is in the organisation’s original charter concept.

 

So what are your thoughts?? It seems like 90% of you want the “association” that is mentioned in the Vote forum. Let’s discuss exactly what shape you want this thing to have, or even better, one of you get the ball rolling.

Saturnman, where are you, how is the Guild, and what are your thoughts on this after the attempts you have made??

 

Thanks for reading this far, please reply, pilots and AMEs, either for or against, all civil replies are welcomed.

And to anyone that actually gets something started, Best Wishes and Good Luck.

 

In anticipation of your comments I remain, sincerely yours, Cyclic Monkey.

[Guest]

Mr. Cyclic Monkey, all good stuff. You hit the nail on the head; now is not the time for more chit chat. It is time for action. Sorry Butch, but I think cyclic monkey here has the pulse of Canadian Helicopter pilots in general. Our industry is a relatively small and diverse one which could not tolerate any interest groups sitting on opposite sides of a table locked in a stalemate. I have many good friends in both management and in the trenches, and I for one want to keep it that way. Now if you were to offer some advice as to how to get an association into a hover, I'd be all ears. (I like the hover analogy - right now we're in the pre-flight stage). I digress, pardon me.

 

Cyclic Monkey: You're post on this particular topic while valuable, may have also been beneficial to see on the association topic. Union discussions are hot button items, and are frankly not productive. Where am I going with this? Kyle: would it be possible to set up a forum for advancing the organisation of an association as opposed to the playground bickering and shouting that accompany the "for" and "against" arguement. A moderator could be appointed to keep the comments and ideas working towards that end. With that accomplished, some kind of mandate could be put to paper. Once in place we could then organise some type of physical meeting. Approximately 1300 of the 2500 licensed pilots in Canada live in BC, Alberta, and Sask. Why not coverge in Calgary for a snot hanger?

 

Cyclic Monkey: My vision for the Association does not have it working against the people that are giving us the jobs and paying our bills. As I mentioned in the other topic, you must respect the people who are willing to take the risks in starting a helicopter operation. Yes it is a two way street, but for now the association should be aligning itself with the owners and sending the message that this industry can no longer provide cadillac service on volkswagen tariffs. If we pilots can prove that we are worth more, well let's all roll up our sleeves and do it. This will take time, but it all starts with everybody agreeing - for a change.

 

Cheers everybody. :up:

[Over-Talk]

I just re-activated this post because I felt it had several good ideas about a Canadian Association. Please ignore the temporary unpleasantries mixed-in there.

 

Please read the posts again, and hopefully these ideas will help you decide on what you would want from an association.

 

Then you should either post your thoughts on the Association Vote page or PM them to Bubbleboy.

I think these guys are onto something and need our help, ideas and participation.