Northwest killing off its mechanics union; markets applaud; other airlines watch closely
it's called "contingency planning..." northwest has had plans in place for nearly a year to bring in non-union mechanics in case of a strike by their mechanics union, amfa (aircraft mechanics fraternal association)... sure enough, it paid off... with the poor bastards out on strike, the temps were brought in... bush, naturally, refused to intervene and, golly gee, guess what...? northwest's share price rises... so typical of business as usual in the u.s. - union-busting gets rewarded by the marketplace, never mind the fact that many of those mechanics may never work in the airline industry again and will be lucky to be able to keep up with their mortgage payments... if you're gonna run a business these days, it definitely helps not to have a soul...
who gets to define "winning," by the way...? sounds like a win-lose proposition to me... i'm also of the belief that win-lose is ALWAYS lose-lose in the long run... and, of course, just like with united's pension default, the other airlines are paying close attention...
can't you just picture bush, cheney and rove, following this story and rubbing their hands together in glee...? as maureen dowd says, it's their world, we just live and die in it... Submit To Propeller
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With a strike by thousands of mechanics in its third day, Northwest Airlines on Monday faced its biggest test yet in its bid to keep operating, but the stock rallied as investors bet the carrier had won.
who gets to define "winning," by the way...? sounds like a win-lose proposition to me... i'm also of the belief that win-lose is ALWAYS lose-lose in the long run... and, of course, just like with united's pension default, the other airlines are paying close attention...
Northwest Airlines' success in keeping its planes flying even after its mechanics walked off the job early on Saturday could embolden other companies to play hardball with their unions.
While Northwest could still hit turbulence in the coming weeks, it has so far effectively used replacement workers and third-party contractors to replace some 4,400 striking mechanics, cleaners and custodians.
Its apparent success could send tremors through other unions at Northwest, its beleaguered airline rivals and even other US corporations, further weakening the organized labor movement.
can't you just picture bush, cheney and rove, following this story and rubbing their hands together in glee...? as maureen dowd says, it's their world, we just live and die in it... Submit To Propeller
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posted by profmarcus at
8/22/2005
