HUMAN RESOURCES
ADVOCATE OR ADVERSARY?


Most of us during our working careers at Delta Air Lines have had problems come up that require knowledgeable answers. Most companies have HR departments set up specifically to handle these various needs. Delta was one of the last major companies in America to establish an HR program, relying until about a decade ago on the old Personnel Dept. to handle employee concerns and issues.

We all had great hopes when Delta actually hired HR Specialists outside our own company with backgrounds, degrees and certificates. This was an important change in philosophy and appeared to be a significant step forward. Many of these professionals hit the ground running and dove into their new careers at Delta with enthusiasm and vigor. One such person went so far as to hold many impromptu meetings with employees at different work sites to get input and learn of our concerns and needs, he put in long hours but was undeterred by the work load and knowledge curve that was required to be learned concerning the unique environment of the airline world.

His work ethic was unequalled but his dedication to purpose and task soon became frustrating and his worries about real employee problems caused him to reassess his decision to work for Delta. What bothered him most was the ratio of employees under his watch. He was the only HR person for over a thousand personnel and the company was considering increasing his work load. He wasn’t worried so much about the long hours, as he was having employees’ very real situations go unaddressed. He was also perturbed by the lack of corporate support he was getting.

He was not receiving timely answers to questions, worse than that; some of the slow coming answers were inconsistent or even flat wrong. After much soul searching, he decided to quit and work for someone else.

Lately I have had conversations with current HR Specialists. One such specialist told me that she considered one of her primary roles to be the protection of the financial integrity of Delta. It sounds to me like she knows who “butters her bread”. Can you imagine trying to get help from someone like that when you might have a legitimate difference of opinion with Delta over illness, injury or FMLA questions, etc.?

Last year, a number of ramp employees returned from long OJI stints. During their extended absentees much of their sick banks had been depleted. As you might be aware, Delta takes a percentage of your sick days while you are on extended illness or injury leaves of absence. One of these individuals wasn’t happy about having sick time used up while on occupational health leave (OJI) and did some investigating on his own. He discovered an Accident Leave policy in the Human Resources Practices Manual (HRPM-1011.10).

Section 1011.10 allows for a one time replenishment of sick time banks, to be used once in an employee’s career provided he or she exercises the option within 90 days of returning to work. Isn’t it interesting that this program was never told to him by a company representative? I wonder if any of you had been apprised of this helpful policy in the past? Don’t you think that any reputable HR person would be singing the praises of such a policy?

Unfortunately, once this individual exercised the benefit, the whole “Accident Leave” section disappeared from the HRPM manual. Was this a coincidence? I hardly think so. He told two others about this replenishment of sick time banks, they exercised the clause and shortly after that the whole program disappeared. You can’t even find a history of this section in the HRPM manual, section 1011 (Accident Leave) is no more. Fortunately we saved a copy and it makes for interesting reading.

The problem is, my friends that we have no advocates. We are essentially on our own. We hope that in times of need we are fortunate enough to get a sympathetic soul to help us, but that is increasingly highly unlikely. We are not viewed as valuable assets but impediments to our company’s financial health. Most Delta policies and procedures have a caveat at the bottom of the page: Subject to change without prior notification. It’s disingenuous to have an HR program that treats its employees as monetary burdens.

If you want consistent treatment then it is essential to get things in writing preferably through a contract, that way if the company feels the need to change a policy or procedure or take money from you, at least you have a voice advocating on your behalf.

Let’s get our associates who haven’t committed yet to sign IAM union authorization cards. We need real advocates who will be willing to stand with us, fight for injustices, and negotiate for competitive wages that won’t yoyo every time a CEO has a bad idea. Trust me; Delta isn’t going to give you anything that you’re not willing to fight for. Stand up, let’s show some spine and be counted.