NWA wants better employee relations...IMAGINE THAT.

Necrophilias

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Mar 7, 2006
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Posted on Wed, Jun. 21, 2006email thisprint thisreprint or license this
Northwest, employees face rocky relationship
BY MARTIN J. MOYLAN
ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS
Northwest Airlines' relations with its employees have been somewhat strained in recent years. Even CEO Doug Steenland admits it.

That can happen when an airline loses billions of dollars, cuts about 20,000 jobs, replaces its union mechanics, lands in bankruptcy and squeezes wages, benefits and other labor costs by $1.4 billion annually.

But as Northwest works its way through its reorganization and nears its targeted labor savings, Steenland is talking up the potential to "repair and renew"company-employee relations.

Eagan-based Northwest has a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to take the airline to "new heights by fundamentally changing the way we interact with one another," he told managers at a company meeting in St. Paul last week.

"The next five years -- and beyond -- will be about respect for one another, listening to one another, openness to new ideas and new ways of doing things, inclusion indecision-making, a shared vision; a shift from 'us versus them' to just 'us,' unchaining the expertise of our co-workers, and recognition and reward for achievement. It's up to us to make those words mean something," Steenland said.

But union leaders say Steenland's words are not matched by actions. Northwest -- and its employees -- don't have any choice but to move toward less adversarial relations, said Charles Craver, a George Washington University law professor who specializes in labor and employment law.

Unhappy employees can make customers unhappy. And Northwest's customers are among the unhappiest in the airline industry.

In the University of Michigan's latest American Customer Satisfaction Index, Northwest ranked last among seven rated carriers.

Union leaders agree that a lot of Northwest employees are not happy with the airline. But they insist the workers continue to do their jobs well.

"Our people love doing their jobs," said Bobby De Pace, head of the airline's ground workers union. "It's management that gets in the way."

De Pace says employees aren't about to forget recent -- and past -- wrongs they feel Northwest did them.

"This is more like a broken branch than an olive branch," De Pace said of Steenland's speech. "Now that our negotiation process is done, they think they can say, 'Let's be friends.' It's not going to happen."

The airline's relations with its flight attendants are especially frosty. They are the one major employee group with which Northwest doesn't have a negotiated -- or imposed -- contract.

"We hope his enthusiasm for building relations with employees will be reflected at the table," said union spokeswoman Karen Schultz. "It has not been shown in the treatment of employees, their families and their communities."

Achieving the type ofmanagement-employee relationship that Steenland envisions is certainly a long shot, said John Budd, a professor of human resources at the University of Minnesota.

"Management is going to have to work very hard to show that it is serious about truly changing its approach," Budd said. "How you do this while simultaneously demanding huge concessions is anyone's guess."
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Northwest Airlines' relations with its employees have been somewhat strained in recent years. Even CEO Doug Steenland admits it.
:unsure: :shock:


Steenland is talking up the potential to "repair and renew"company-employee relations.
it's like getting beat up and say "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to DO THAT!"


"The next five years -- and beyond -- will be about respect for one another, listening to one another, openness to new ideas and new ways of doing things, inclusion indecision-making, a shared vision; a shift from 'us versus them' to just 'us,'
too late for that.


Unhappy employees can make customers unhappy. And Northwest's customers are among the unhappiest in the airline industry.

Northwest ranked last among seven rated carriers.
wow that's surprising


I hope AMFA beef up their strike campaign.

It's really demoralizing to go to work and work WITH worthless scabs... and now he's asking us to make nice nice with the SCABS?

Sorry, until the scabs are gone it's still US vs. THEM. Right now it's still US vs them and them.
 
here's a few suggestions but not from old mgmt of usair:

Get rid of the mgmt and they dont take their hefty parachutes with the money sacks full

get rid of the scabs and get the AMFA professionals back in full scale

get a new mgmt team willing to work with employees and not steal from them


watch and see if employees and customers become happier and employees and mgmt repsect each other!
 
Okay, .....lets see here......delete the ...."N"...."W"......"A".......type in the words.........U..n...i..t..e..d...A..i...r.....and ......


HEY!!!!! I've seen this BEFORE!!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry:
 
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  • Thread starter
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:unsure: :shock:

it's like getting beat up and say "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to DO THAT!"

too late for that.
wow that's surprising
I hope AMFA beef up their strike campaign.

It's really demoralizing to go to work and work WITH worthless scabs... and now he's asking us to make nice nice with the SCABS?

Sorry, until the scabs are gone it's still US vs. THEM. Right now it's still US vs them and them.

Your take on this story seems to be most appropriate and certainly more reality based than that of NW executives.

"Make nice with SCABS"...CHARTNAH BABY! :)
Note: Chartnah = Next life in Thai
 
"The next five years -- and beyond -- will be about respect for one another, listening to one another, openness to new ideas and new ways of doing things, inclusion indecision-making, a shared vision; a shift from 'us versus them' to just 'us,' unchaining the expertise of our co-workers, and recognition and reward for achievement. It's up to us to make those words mean something,"
Did this come from the random management word generator at dilbert.com?
 
Well if "DOUGIE STEALIN" means what he says, then the FIRST FRIGGIN' place he can start, is with the STOCK(money that he STOLE).

"F-U" Doug !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(and PTO)

NH/BB's
 
Okay, .....lets see here......delete the ...."N"...."W"......"A".......type in the words.........U..n...i..t..e..d...A..i...r.....and ......
HEY!!!!! I've seen this BEFORE!!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry:
Heard it a million times in a million places, starting way back in the 'Corps....."cant we all just get along, hold hands and sing KUM BI YA?"
Oh well, one can always hope.......
 
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