NEW COACHES; SAME OLD PLAYBOOK

ASSURANCES ROLLING IN FROM NEWEST MANAGERS
DEJA-VU ALL OVER AGAIN?


Most sporting franchises have colorful histories with emotional highs and lows. Teams go through periods of success generally followed by patches of poor play and bad managerial decisions. All teams suffer these peaks and valleys; it’s an inevitable by-product of the high-wire act that is professional sports.

When things get bad enough, people get fired; scapegoats are identified and heads roll. It is the nature of the beast. Generally, the coach finds himself out of a job and looking for another. Today’s hero is tomorrow’s villain.

Teams are always looking for inspired coaching and innovative ideas and new play calling.

Corporations have similarities to sports franchises; they are always looking for the next great leader to take them to the Promised Land. Companies, just like sports teams, are endlessly shopping for people with vision and new ideas that inspire others and help fill the coffers with money by motivating the work force to excel and over-achieve.

Delta, however, dances to a different tune. There seems to be a new set of coaches (leaders) coming onboard every 4 or 5 years but the playbook (ideas) never seems to change. We hear the same tired old drivel from each new leader. Gil West, Senior Vice President-Airport Customer Service, has been kind enough to supply our workers with a weekly ACS update of these well-worn phrases and ideas.

Last week Gil assured us that those presently holding a full-time job in ACS would be relatively safe because he would protect our current workforce — by ensuring our future workforce would most probably never get beyond ready-reserve status. The policy of ‘addition through subtraction’ never seemed to make much sense to those of us who have worked at Delta for very long. Securing ‘our’ future by denying others a future isn’t sound policy.

This week Mr. West said this: “I want to reassure you that we plan to continue leveraging Delta talent in positions where we already do so and we have no plans to pursue any additional outsourcing at this time.” If this quote sounds familiar to you then you have been paying attention. Gil West’s two predecessors, Rich Cordell and Vicki Escarra, said virtually the exact same things during their tenures at Delta (Ms. Vicki then proceeded to close stations and eliminate jobs.) Yep, different set of coaches and same old playbook!

We don’t know what Rich Cordell might have done because his tenure was abruptly ended last year, but Vicki’s statement turned out to be a bald-faced lie. Having “no plans to outsource”, turned into one of the largest job giveaways in airline history. She left along with almost the entire ‘coaching staff’ handsomely rewarded for the damage she and those others did. And we paid for it.

Let’s give Mr. West a chance to make good on his weekly updates. Let’s hold him to his word by getting him and his superiors to put their updates and reassurances in to something more substantial than just a weekly letter. It’s easy for us. We sign IAM A-cards, vote for the Union, then just simply sit down and hammer out an agreement that is binding; a contract. It is the right thing to do, especially in these uncertain times.

The IAM is ready and has the talent, desire and ability to deliver — and they know the process. They are willing to do it for nothing. No initiation and no dues until we vote on a contract that we like. All it requires is for us to put our signature on a union authorization card. What are we waiting for? It’s time we workers had a winning season in spite of our coaching staff. All it takes is us and our determination.