What Do You Want An Assn To Do For You

[Nomex]

- Insurance standards throughout the industry, requirements for operators to provide and seek insurance companies that will provide good additional coverage.

- Pension requirements (like they have in Switzerland), where every pilot contributes to one pension fund, no matter how many different companies they work for, so that after however many years in the industry you leave with that many years of contributions to a pension fund that you can draw on. I think that it also was a requirement that the company matches the employees contribution up to a certain amount. It is government mandated. Too many old pilots realize late in their careers that their little nest egg is "little".

- Start with some things that can immediately help the pilots (& engineers - didn't mean to leave them out, sorry) and will not be too controversial, get some visible success, which will get more membership and then tackle the tougher battles.

- I think a lot of the issues that can be dealt with in an association affect both pilots and engineers and including both in an association will help eliminate whatever differences or conflicts arise between the groups from time to time.

 

[bag swinnger]

Now we are getting some where! this is some of the most constructive input i have heard yet on this topic, both hear and in the previous web site. all good ideas

 

[100ft]

I've re-read this topic and now see that perhaps what would work well might be an emphasis on bubbleboy's professionalism widely supported. Elvis I realize that not all operations can be pigeon-holed in specific terms (mind you, that pissing on myself did feel good for that first 20 seconds or so).

No one knows the realities of the day-to-day ops of a helicopter company like its pilots and engineers; not even the owners. I therefore see an effective budding organization as one who could, like I earlier suggested, attest as a body to perhaps the insurance companies to the professional practices in place at their workplace and propose a 2% cut in premiums for their company for meeting the association's standards of safety and professionalism. That's got to be worth gold to the insurance companies to hear such an endorsement from a group of organized professionals who know the industry and the operation and are not gaining from that endorsement any direct monetary benefit. I see that as having more weight than a company owner asking for a rate cut "because my company runs well." I earlier used the words "disable shady operators". I think it'd be better put "advantage the professional operators among the industry".

Does anyone out there work for a company worthy of such an endorsement and reward?

Nomex......great points too.

 

[bag swinnger]

Yes I work for such a company. and it took me five years to talk this company in to hiring me. a couple of stops with the so called "shady operators" along the way, that left me wondering if I was one of the lucky ones to ever have been chosen to fly or maybe cursed for what I have since witnessed. I too have read the article of the "rotor rookie" written by leanne schmidt. and although she has a bad story to tell it is far from the worst that are out there. and if i could help do just one thing to help clean up that part of the industry I would. It is a small industry and I have taken great pride in being able to talk good pilots out of taking positions with known bad companies, part of the" what goes around comes around" philosophy, but have always thought that there could be a better way. I know that there are lots of pilots out there that consider themselves fortunate to be employed by a good company and they would not want to jeopordize what they have by forming anything. The operator that I work for is very approachable and open, I have just breifly talked of this subject in the past with him and found that his as is many peoples opinion is that unions terrify them and have a hard time seeing it as any thing other. and he is quick to point out that as there are bad companies there is also bad pilots. If our industry was twice the size of what it is I feel that we would already have some form of an organization, a strength in numbers sort of thing.

 

[bubbleboy]

Hey Sm"Elvis" check your PM's.

"a-huh, a-huh, thank you very much"