New job, and just in time
 

I accepted a job offer at Learjet on Friday, just before the Hawker-Beechcraft union likely destroyed the company's future in Wichita.

Hawker Machinists reject contract offer | NL Breaking News | Wichita Eagle

No matter how hard I try, I simply can't conceive voting that you'd rather have no job than take a pay cut. The union brainwashing and arrogance never fails to amaze me. For a bunch of fairly unskilled and uneducated blue collar folks making $27/hr (average) + benefits in the midwest, they sure seem to think they're under-appreciated.

Anyway, I'm pumped about the new opportunity. I'll be doing project/engineering management for the new Lear 85, it should be fun.

The union mentality never ceases to amaze me...

Good for you Matt! Hope you enjoy the new job.

Congratulations!
If you need about 200lbs of ballast for one of your test flight projects. I volunteer!
Enjoy the ride!

Congrats on the new job!

Congtrats on the new job! Unions are "alien" to me, but I've seen executives do this in other industries too...I'm no longer amazed :(. Good luck!

Nice going Matt!

Well done and congrats!

Congrats on the new job!

Unions have their place. They just need to find that place in today's economic reality.

Congrats, is Lear jet still owned by bombardier? i spent alot of time down there on the Lear 45 when i was working in dehavilland in toronto. we had the winglets. couldn't keep the metal bonded skins from denting up, but we were working with 0.016 al sheet.

Congrats!

Have you heard if they are moving to Baton Rouge? I know they we are hearing that if the union can't come to an agreement that the company was ,moving down here.

Yup, still the same corporate sugardaddy.:D

Nothing solid, but it sure is looking like a move is inevitable. You probably know as much as I do, at this point it's mostly speculation. The media reports sure make it appear likely though. Our loss your gain, thousands of new good-paying high-tech jobs are pretty much every city's dream right now.

Hawker evaluates options | Top Stories | Wichita Eagle

Harley Davidson just went through the same thing. The union refused to budge so they said we will just move. When it got close the workers decided a job was better than no job. Harley stayed.

27/hour? OMG & WTF!

No matter how hard I try I cant seem to break the 24 range. Man, fuch those people! for real!

Congrats. I was just out there on business and seeing all those aerospace companies got me thinking...

A little history on unions.. It's called "Full pay to the final day". And I was a huge supporter of this when going through our pilot contract negotiations. If management had their way, we would being working for peanuts. It's not my fault you negoitated other bad deals with fuel prices, ramp people, hotels, etc.. Why should we have to suffer for that? We were totally willing to shut the place down, and when the vote came out it was 97% IN favor of a strike. Of course a deal was struck with less than 1 hour to go.

Now, I was younger then and didnt have a lot of resposibilities that i have now.. I completely understand how unions can destroy companies, but unless a pay recovery plan when things start to get better is in the contract, youre still going to get a NO vote from 90% of the voting members. Oh, I could go on and on.. lol..

Yes but Mark you are talking about a skilled workforce... You can't just run out and gather up a bunch of pilots(or can you?) There are probably a ton of people in KS alone that would kill to have those factory jobs at $20/hr... There is really no reason to be paying unskilled labor that much.

I always figured if a company was expecting me to work for free I would just go find someplace else to work.

Congrats!!!

That is great news Matt, congratulations!