21.8.05
Support striking workers
Support the striking Northwest Airlines mechanics - fly another airline. If you're going to the airport (where, of course, you will hopefully be stepping on a non-Northwest plane), say hello to the strikers and offer them some encouragement.
Northwest's relationship with its mechanics is yet another example of workers being asked to make major sacrifices while incompetent executives continue to receive large compensation packages - in essence, rewarding failure. Incompetent?, you may ask. Actually, that's probably the most polite way to describe an executive who thinks that managing to lose billions of dollars for several years in a row constitutes a "winning strategy":
Steenland must engineer a turnaround at the airline that has lost $1.2 billion in the past three years, cope with dramatic increases in fuel costs and try to convince unions to give concessions that will allow Northwest to reduce annual labor costs by $950 million.
...
Q: Any major changes in top management?
A: There will be no major changes. Obviously, we'll move some boxes around on the organizational chart, but we don't have any other major announcements.
Q: Will the traveling public see any major changes at Northwest?
A: Not immediately, that's for sure. We think we've got a winning strategy and a winning hand.
I was an active participant in developing that strategy in the past, and I fully support it. I have no intention of changing it. (emphasis added)
In addition, Northwest is a company with a record of fattening executive bank accounts in the middle of attacks on labor; and even now, extraordinary pensions and compensation packages are the norm for Northwest executives.
But if these arguments in defense of workers' rights don't sway you, consider this: mechanics are the ones making sure your plane is safe to fly. Their hard work helps to prevent things like, oh, brake mishaps and faulty air conditioners on landing planes. So, one might say that not flying Northwest during the strike would be an example of "enlightened self-interest".
And I'd like to give a special little "fuck you" to the scabs performing the work of the striking mechanics. There's no excuse for what you're doing.
Support the striking Northwest Airlines mechanics - fly another airline. If you're going to the airport (where, of course, you will hopefully be stepping on a non-Northwest plane), say hello to the strikers and offer them some encouragement.
Northwest's relationship with its mechanics is yet another example of workers being asked to make major sacrifices while incompetent executives continue to receive large compensation packages - in essence, rewarding failure. Incompetent?, you may ask. Actually, that's probably the most polite way to describe an executive who thinks that managing to lose billions of dollars for several years in a row constitutes a "winning strategy":
Steenland must engineer a turnaround at the airline that has lost $1.2 billion in the past three years, cope with dramatic increases in fuel costs and try to convince unions to give concessions that will allow Northwest to reduce annual labor costs by $950 million.
...
Q: Any major changes in top management?
A: There will be no major changes. Obviously, we'll move some boxes around on the organizational chart, but we don't have any other major announcements.
Q: Will the traveling public see any major changes at Northwest?
A: Not immediately, that's for sure. We think we've got a winning strategy and a winning hand.
I was an active participant in developing that strategy in the past, and I fully support it. I have no intention of changing it. (emphasis added)
In addition, Northwest is a company with a record of fattening executive bank accounts in the middle of attacks on labor; and even now, extraordinary pensions and compensation packages are the norm for Northwest executives.
But if these arguments in defense of workers' rights don't sway you, consider this: mechanics are the ones making sure your plane is safe to fly. Their hard work helps to prevent things like, oh, brake mishaps and faulty air conditioners on landing planes. So, one might say that not flying Northwest during the strike would be an example of "enlightened self-interest".
And I'd like to give a special little "fuck you" to the scabs performing the work of the striking mechanics. There's no excuse for what you're doing.
