Would a Pilot Association fly at smaller Eastern operators?

[1900Driver472]

"Only place to work". EVAS is not the only game in town ..eh buddy!

[anona]

Everyone says how great the potential is there! That I've spoke with.
But its a shamefully pressured operation.
Remarkable lack of respect too.
Certainly things can be fixed, though. If disgruntled employees see potential....hopefully owners do too!

[D for Delux]

I think this thread has reached it's limit on speculation. EVAS will not go Union or Association in my lifetime. The pilots based in Gander are way too comfy to rock the boat and have the company shut down on them. They want to stay in Gander and they know very well it's the only place they can work. On the other hand.........the guys in Halifax do not have enough sol·i·dar·i·ty within it's group to even come close to getting an Association or Union in place.

Unless somebody knows different they can enlighten this thread.

Speculation.....you must speculate that this is speculation!
What is there 40 pilots in Gander, I don't know any that are comfy...and they don't portray having happy crew pairings. ( no, I don't personally know all 40 )
And Maritime pilots returning after an overnight on a "day off"?
I think a union would be great at LEVAS.
Look how happy unionized crews are at other operations!

Or, maybe, you could enlighten us on how "comfy" folks are?
My friends feel they get EVAS'd all too often! It's a shame really. Could be a great job!

DFD

[timel]

ALPA only accept big groups of pilots.

UNIFOR could be a good choice, gather pilots who would want to take part in it. I think you need 51% pilots signing the little paper than send it. Idealy a little more.

One of the big 703-704-705 operator in Qb just got accredited by UNIFOR.
Way to go if you want to stop the rip off. I sincerely believe that it is going more and more this way.

Yes the management will get wild, it is all about timing, speaking to the right people and keeping it really low profile, cockpit is great for that. You need a few key people willing to take leadership and do the work after.

You will base your first convention on existing ones and adapt it

[D for Delux]

ALPA only accept big groups of pilots.

UNIFOR could be a good choice, gather pilots who would want to take part in it. I think you need 51% pilots signing the little paper than send it. Idealy a little more.

One of the big 703-704-705 operator in Qb just got accredited by UNIFOR.
Way to go if you want to stop the rip off. I sincerely believe that it is going more and more this way.

Yes the management will get wild, it is all about timing, speaking to the right people and keeping it really low profile, cockpit is great for that. You need a few key people willing to take leadership and do the work after.

You will base your first convention on existing ones and adapt it

That's great advice.
I hope some of those down easter boys go for it.
They work harder than most of us, and get no thanks for it!

DFD

[timel]

More infos here : http://www.unifor2002.org/unitDirectory.aspx

After +51% pilots will send the request paper for accreditation, you will be protected from management. Not before, that is why you have to make sure to stay low profile.

[eastpilot]

Well well well
It would be interesting to see what UNIFOR has to offer!
I wonder...
Do all operators threaten to close the doors when they're pilots want a union?
Is it possible to get a decent work environment without a union?

[thepriceisright]

How funny would it be if all the replies to this topic were all EVAS employees? Probably talking about the same stuff everyday in the cockpit; yet unbeknownst to each other's usernames on AVCANADA. Haha.

[anona]

How funny would it be if all the replies to this topic were all EVAS employees? Probably talking about the same stuff everyday in the cockpit; yet unbeknownst to each other's usernames on AVCANADA. Haha.

You`re prob right TPIR, between current and ex employees.
And one seemingly management comment.
I would also say it`s more likely, with seperate bases, my buddies there haven`t met all the crews from Gander. Nor Gander crews met all Hali crews!

[thepriceisright]

How funny would it be if all the replies to this topic were all EVAS employees? Probably talking about the same stuff everyday in the cockpit; yet unbeknownst to each other's usernames on AVCANADA. Haha.

You`re prob right TPIR, between current and ex employees.
And one seemingly management comment.
I would also say it`s more likely, with seperate bases, my buddies there haven`t met all the crews from Gander. Nor Gander crews met all Hali crews!

Too funny. Good luck with this association thing... I guess.

[BigTimePilot]

Its been a while since I worked back east but it does not seem like much has changed from the good old days.
A great way to go would be to call up ALPA or UAW and see what they have to say about how getting things rolling, or perhaps you'll find out that things are already in the works as suggested by The Price is Right.
Any company being shut down over a union is bullstuff. Too large of a cash cow to just let it go. Cash is GOD at such operations so the idea they would be OK with losing it altogether is laughable. LEAVS seems to have a management style of 'fear and intimidation', from what I hear so go ahead and call the bluff. Always works with bullies.

[DF_PQ_QX]

Wow! B'ys if you want to bitch and moan about garbage, someone should start a private forum for the company. We all have shit we are not happy with (I do) but to go online and air all our dirty laundry in a public forum seems a tad childish. The world doesn't need to know about our petty BS!

There is always a lot worse places to work!

[Wüstenfuchs]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you are talking about EVAS..AKA LEVAS. I heard not to long ago a certain individual say.."If anyone ever tried to form a union or PA, we will shut everything down and sell off, before we will allow that to happen" from the horses mouth!

Call bull^%$! and go for it I say....The wages there are pretty good for 704, so why a PA?

Wages are pretty good according to whom? It's been posted several times here on the employment forum that salary starts at 30K for F/O's and 55K for Captains. Is that passing for "pretty good" for 704 these days? At least you're making more than you would at Georgian flying the same equipment though, right?! What a joke.

Not an EVAS pilot here, but if that's your "carrot" not to seek union representation, I'd reconsider it.

[toelessjoe]

Just bumping to the top 'cause it's a slow news day. Now where's my popcorn?

[eastpilot]

Just bumping to the top 'cause it's a slow news day. Now where's my popcorn?

Yeah,
Has anyone seen the agreement of employment?
Is it a sensible contract, or not?
There are a lot of pilots there.....can't all be from Botwood or Gander!
EP

[anona]

There was a minivan with 3 people in it at a local coffee shop back in January....All wearing ALPA jackets!
Are the wheels in motion?
anona

[sinker]

You are all forgetting about the biggest operator on the rock, Provincial Airlines. Which has recently been bought out by an investment company, Exchange Income Corporation.

EIC also owns several other successful Airlines out West. Calm Air, Perimeter, Bearskin.

The PAL pilot group have recently been made aware that our sister companies (mentioned above) WAWCON is far more advanced then our current one. Pay Scale being the #1 issue. PAL pilots are grossly under paid in comparison (think $20, 000/yr less to operate same type in same conditions, with less perks.)
The list is long in areas where PAL has a lot of catching up to do, to be on par with these companies. The pilot group has had enough and are frustrated.

Currently the pilot group are waiting on a recent meeting between pilot reps and management in regards to ironing out several big issues with our pay scale and working conditions.

Many are getting impatient and feel the company aren't taking the pilots seriously which is why the threat of a Union is being made, its hard to say how many want a Union but I haven't spoken to one pilot yet that has said no they don't.

What is the best option for the PAL pilots? Most are determined to stay on the island and raise their families, but the company knows this as well and they take advantage.

It's sad really, PAL has some of the best pilot employees a company could ask for, I don't think you could ask for a group who take as much pride in there work and the company, as the pilot group does. But yet when it comes to rewarding the employee with a fair wage it just doesn't happen. We have 6-10 yr Dash 8 Captains who can't get approved for a mortgage.

When the announcement was made that PAL had been bought out by a Mainland company, locals here were irate. They figured well there goes all kinds of NL jobs, and there will be cut backs, and our little successful airline will be destroyed.

What they don't realize is, is that its our own NL management that are treating our own people so harshly.(Management hate Pilots) This big bad mainland company owns several very successful companies with WAWCON's PAL pilots can only dream of. Meanwhile PAL/Aerospace has been involved in many, many more multi-million dollar contracts then any of these other companies. It's time to start sharing the wealth.

[anona]

It may be possible to have two NL operators work in tandem on the bargaining with their respective future unions?

[planett]

I've worked for 3 of the companies mentioned, long before they had the same owners. They currently do not have many overlapping route structures that haven't been worked out yet, especially where Speed Air is concerned. This is good for Provincial pilots. The pay disparity will become obvious, but the groups will likely not be merged for a while, or ever. The onus is on Speed Air to stand up and demand industry standard WAWCON. You are a sharp group of IFR Pilots that I am proud to say I was part of one time, you need to demand what you are worth. You have more power as a group than you think!

[D for Delux]

How far along is the UNIFOR bargaining getting at LEVAS?
I heard the pilots were laid-off JUL31 and hired under a different business entity within EVAS Air on Aug01.