Northwest Airlines Apologizes After Money-Saving Ideas Offend Workers

[Omaha Steve]

Full story: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nwa17aug17,1,5341674.story?ctrack=1&cset=true



Northwest Airlines Apologizes After Money-Saving Ideas Offend Workers
From Bloomberg News
August 17, 2006

Northwest Airlines Corp. is apologizing to workers offended by company suggestions on how to save money that included buying jewelry at pawnshops, getting auto parts at junkyards and taking shorter showers.

The list, titled "101 Ways to Save Money," was part of a booklet for employees being laid off as Northwest reorganizes under bankruptcy protection. The Eagan, Minn.-based carrier gave out 60 of the booklets before it began getting complaints, and it cut the list from remaining copies, spokesman Roman Blahoski said Wednesday.

"This is disgraceful that somebody at Northwest Airlines would send this out to a long-term employee facing having no job, telling them to do certain things that are very degrading," said Robert Roach Jr., a spokesman for the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Northwest, the fifth-largest U.S. airline, is reducing pay and benefits and shedding jobs as it trims labor spending by $1.4 billion annually to exit bankruptcy protection as soon as 2007. The job cuts include 1,000 machinists as well as members of other unions.

[truthisfreedom]

1. i think the "dumpster diving" suggestion was the one that made the news

here in NW AIR country.

[Cobalt-60]

20. I'm a seasoned diver

But seeking spare parts for obsolete computers and VCRs - and anything else that looks useful- in the refuse has been my own choice.
This is way over the line for an employer.
I don't know if it p*sses me off more that they said it or that I might face competition for that 1997 type AT power supply!

[Sherman A1]

2. Well that would be a start

I think terminating whoever came up with this little piece of advice, might be a good idea as well.....

[Sinti]

3. What's up with the spit in your face and then, oh, I'm sorry,

if you were offended?

[angstlessk]

7. Yeah, as they halt, half turn their heads, hold their hands over their

mouths, snicker, and return to their apology...SURE, your sorry, alright, only not in an apologetic way!

[saigon68]

13. When in doubt... light something on fire

THIS IS WHERE MANAGEMENT BELONGS

[kurth]

4. How about a meeting between the Northwest execs and the laid off workers

in an alley in St. Paul.

[MindPilot]

6. That's the best idea yet...

"That lead pipe didn't cost me a dime!"

[katinmn]

5. "Let them eat cake"

The right wingers come with this built-in mental bias that says if you lose your job, are sick or in hard times, it's YOUR fault. They always blame the victims.

It is BS that this handbook went out without NWA's sign-off. They PAID someone to write it. NWA is one of the worst in terms of disrespecting its employees and its customers. The haves are always surprised when the have-nots take offense.

One of the reasons I work independently is that I grew to despise CEO and senior management prevailing attitude that they alone deserved their high salaries and perks, their ability to hire political cronies and family friends, while worker bees deserve their struggles and are forced to kiss-ass just to keep their jobs. The hierarchical nature of most companies and many organizations is demeaning to workers. Sure, dumpster-diving is good enough for those who can't evolve beyond their current status. :sarcasm:

[DemoTex]

11. Exactly what popped into my mind! Let them eat cake (LTEC).

Or the corollary to LTEC: ESAD. Eat Shit And Die. Either one nails almost all airline managements' attitude toward their employees. I know. Been there .. done that. My pension was terminated on 3/31/2003 and the CEO that killed it (with the help of a friendly GOP federal bankruptcy judge), Dave Siegel, got a $10-million golden parachute later that year (without as much as a whimper from the federal bench!).

[MindPilot]

18. Ya know DemoTex, it has always bothered me

that the people who literally hold lives in their hands, EMTs, pilots, controllers, cops, nurses, firefighters, etc even feel the need for unions let alone have to endure near constant screwing from their employers.

Here in my town, the city has gotten itself into so much financial shit that the police officers are taking pay cuts of up to a thousand bucks a month. Almost a third of our cops have left; firefighters and the other city workers may not be far behind.

If they say you don't need a pension, reply with "that was the part of my pay that reminded me to put the gear down. Darn, did I break another airplane? Whaddya gonna do now, make me work longer hours?" Unfortunately the subtle protest options are somewhat limited in your profession.

[redqueen]

8. Class war? What class war?

:eyes:

[FooFootheSnoo]

9. that's terrible

I saw the dumpster diving suggestion on CNN. What upper or middle management type came up with this idea? I don't understand why the stupidest, most incompetent, and non-practical types are always put in upper or middle management(for the most part). It's like corporations intentionally seek out stupid people for leaders. Meanwhile, employees with common sense are kept in lower level positions.

[katinmn]

17. Why? Cronyism, politics and the neutering of labor laws.

[sweetpotato]

19. My mama always said

Up and Out.

She worked for the Federal government for many years. She said the "best" way to get rid of a co-worker that didn't pull his/her weight was to get them promoted. Up and Out.

I think that's why so many upper level types are not so gifted in the workplace. The people who actually DO THE WORK cannot be promoted, who would get the actual work done?

[lumpy]

26. A lot of it has to do with nepotism

and who you know.

[lpbk2713]

10. Their only regret is that they couldn't pull it off.

Apologies from people like this are worthless. Big business is now of the opinion that they can walk all over employees (no matter how many years service they have) thanks to the fine examples provided by the BushCo badministration.

[saigon68]

14. IF YOU ARE RICH YOU DON'T GIVE A FUCK FOR THE POOR

They are POOR because they are lazy

</sarcasm>

[zbdent]

12. I'm sure you'll be able to get a break buying second-hand stock from

the CEO ... he'll knock a few pennies off the list price ...

just before the second-hand stocks become worth as much as bad toilet paper ...

[NashVegas]

15. Writing As Someone Who Has Been On 'Unenjoyment'

I have shopped for clothes at Salvation Army and church sales; I have recycled furniture left by others, on the street, and I have left some out for others, to do the same. Even when not unemployed, I have bought car parts at junkyards.

Those things that Roach calls "degrading" may also be called, "facing reality."

A booklet such as this, though well-intended, would have been better distributed through the state's unemployment agency.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

25. I was just wondering...

Where can I get a copy?

I'm always looking for ways to survive or saving a few bucks. :)

[WinkyDink]

16. Why are you all bothering my beautiful mind about this?

[LiberalFighter]

21. What booklet do their upper mgmt get to help save money?

[struggle4progress]

22. What? No sequel with "Tasty Roadkill Recipes"?

[JohMunich99]

23. Taking a walk in the woods is a good idea for a date, but dumpster diving

is just absurd. Who thought it was a good idea to say "If you see something you like in the trash, just take it."? Whoever it was, I'm sure they were fired.

[HereSince1628]

24. It's embarrassing this shit was produced by a local company

I imagine one of the little twits that wrote it could well be one of the naive degreed escapees from the college I taught at.

Then again, NW accepted the stupid document and distributed it.

[iverglas]

27. what's too bad is that the things we should *all* be doing

are apparently done by so few people that it's considered offensive to suggest someone do them.

Me, I'd be offended if anyone suggested that I buy used jewelry or car parts, or conserve energy -- or salvage stuff I needed from the neighbourhood trash -- but I'd be offended because I've been bloody doing it for decades and don't need to be told. And I'm not remotely poor.

If you google "101 ways to save money", you'll find that this employer didn't likely invent the list it used -- although there are probably many versions of this kind of list.

Here's one from a professor, for Alabama families, from 1999:
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/H/HE-0562/

One from non-profit Consumer Credit Counselling in San Francisco includes "12. Buy spare parts for your car at the junkyard."

Yes, I do realize that doing it out of choice is different from doing it out of necessity -- although I did that for years, too. If we all chose to do it, though, even when we don't have to, not feeling stigmatized if we found we had to do it would be only one of the benefits.