Piling On

A couple of weeks ago the pilots at nwa took a vote of "no confidence" with the management here. I found it ironic that the pilots, the ones who sold out the rest of the groups here on the property, were the first to publicize what the flight attendants, ground workers and now the unemployed mechanics have been saying for years. Basically, we've been saying that the management here doesn't have a clear vision for the company nor does it have considerations for their employees. Today, the flight attendant union issued a "no confidence" statement of its own.

Furthermore the company seems to be in denial at the anger and frustration and resentment that is fomenting right under the surface here. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) which is the union representing us, hired an outside polling firm to come up with some insight into the issues facing flight attendants here at the company. One of the eye opening findings in the survey was that a shocking 89%(!!!!!) had a "mostly negative" or "very negative" view of nwa management. That is even HIGHER than President Bush's disapproval rating. It is incredible that nwa management continues to act as if all is well at the airline when there is so much evidence that it isn't. I don't know of a single person here at the airline that still cares if nwa survives or fades away. Most of us are confident that whatever happens there will be jobs for us (i.e. a merger) but have long lost our loyalty to Northwest. The best that Steenland and company can hope from its pilots and flight attendants seems to be apathy and disinterest. The company claims that it wants to "reach out" and "engage" with its employees in new ways but the opportunity might be gone. We simply don't have any faith in or desire to deal with the current management. It is time for Dougie to take his $26 million bonus and his cronies on the board and head to the next chapter in his life. We're done with him.

Below is the article from The Minneapolis Star-Tribune concerning the AFA "No Confidence" vote.

Leaders of the flight attendants union at Northwest Airlines called Friday for CEO Doug Steenland to resign, saying he has mismanaged the airline.

"Severe staffing shortages, record flight cancellations, low employee morale and outraged customers are the direct result of poor management by Steenland," the Northwest branch of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) said.

Three weeks ago, the Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) blamed top management for creating a pilot staffing shortage and said it had no confidence in the airline's leadership.

Kevin Griffin, president of Northwest AFA, said in a prepared statement Friday: "Northwest flight attendants sacrificed 40 percent in pay, work rules and benefits cuts and are 20 percent more productive, all in an effort to ensure the survival of Northwest Airlines."In return for our investment, Mr. Steenland pocketed a lucrative compensation package and has mismanaged our airline. It's insulting to flight attendants that he remains employed," Griffin said.

The pilots and flight attendants have been outspoken in their criticism of Steenland for choosing to accept a $26.6 million package of stock and stock options over four years.

In late June, Northwest was forced to cancel about 1,200 flights over a seven-day period, partly because it lacked enough pilots.

In a prepared statement, Northwest said that its board "has expressed its confidence in Doug Steenland's leadership by retaining him as president and chief executive." The carrier added that under Steenland, Northwest had a "successful restructuring and emergence from bankruptcy as a much stronger and now profitable airline."

Jerry Glass, an airline consultant and former US Airways executive, said in an interview Friday that it's useful to pinpoint the core issues in this conflict.

Glass asked: "Is it really Doug's leadership or is it frustration with the operation?"

He added, "There is always more flying in the summer. How do you balance that demand with the need to make sure you have the right number of employees all year round?"

The flight attendants have had four union presidents over a 12-month period, and they have had three unions since 2003. Friday was the one-year anniversary of the attendants' decision to replace the independent Professional Flight Attendants Association with the AFA, an AFL-CIO affiliate.