Slavery In Aviation

"Gary Mishler" wrote in message news:Ewbsb.172027$HS4.1394008@attbi_s01...

"Jeff Franks" wrote in message
...
No, but it does show your priorities. I'm only interested in employees who
care about the company (and thereby their jobs). Refusing to do something
that is necessary for the company's survival makes no sense to me.

It's like you said, and it's also customer service. If my students can't
get into the building without getting their feet wet because the walks
aren't shoveled they may end up going somewhere else, which would also be my
loss.

True story.

It doesn't snow that much in St Louis, and when it does snow, it usually
only lasts a couple days before melting off. So people and businesses
don't make the same level of arrangements to cope as people in colder
climes must.

When I was a student pilot at a local flight school, we had a cold
snap following a reasonably substantial snow. A week after the snowfall,
snow was still on the ground.

I went out to the airport to fly. The planes were still covered with
snow. The ramps surrounding the planes were plowed, but snow had been
pushed up so that it formed a barrier to pulling each plane out.

A number of CFIs were sitting around a table inside, kvetching
about how they weren't flying and hence weren't earning money.

Now I guess snow removal wasn't in their job description. But if
they'd all pitched in and shoveled the snow off the planes, put
the first planes on the schedule inside the heated hangars to warm
up, called the airport authority to plow the cleared section of the
ramp clean then moved other planes and gotten the rest of the ramp
plowed, they could have been flying (and earning money) all week.
And honey, I'm from Western New York and I've shoveled snow in my
time. I coulda got that whole ramp clean by myself in 3 days with
only a shovel. Half a dozen strapping and healthy young fellows
and a tractor with a plow on it, 3 hrs max.

They lost. Their employer lost, and ultimately went out of business.

I guess sometimes it's better to avoid working for free sometimes than to
keep working at all.

Sydney