General Lee
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NWA worker surveys faulted
BY MARTIN J. MOYLAN
Pioneer Press
An ongoing Northwest Airlines' survey of its employees' attitudes toward the airline is producing anger and distrust among some workers who believe they were asked inappropriate questions.
Some employee comments have been taped and some focus group sessions have been observed through a one-way mirror. And union leaders say interviewers have probed issues that should only be brought up at the bargaining table — such as employees' readiness to accept wage cuts and their reactions to a potential bankruptcy.
The Eagan-based airline says it has stopped asking the troublesome questions and that employees were informed of the taping and observations. Northwest management will get a summary of the surveys but not raw notes or recordings.
Nonetheless, District 143 of the International Association of Machinists has advised members to refuse interview requests. And the pilots' union has asked Northwest to stop surveying its members. Both unions are in contract talks with Northwest.
"Don't attend,'' said Bobby De Pace, president of District 143, which represents sales and reservation agents, baggage handlers and other ground workers. "First, there should not be any questions regarding bankruptcy. That's for negotiations. Secondly, I was told that these interviews are being recorded — another no-no."
Northwest, which is seeking nearly $1 billion in annual wage and other concessions from employees, says any taping or one-way mirror use has been done with the knowledge of employees, who have participated voluntarily.
Managers won't see any individual's comments, the airline insists. And it says it revised its line of questioning to avoid issues that could be deemed related to contract negotiations.
Pilot union leaders also objected to some of the questions. Outside interviewers working under contract to Northwest asked pilots bargaining-related questions, the union says. The union says it asked the airline to stop the interviews and Northwest has complied.
"We had reports from several pilots that they had been asked questions that could be construed as related to bargaining,'' said union spokesman Hal Myers, a Northwest pilot. "It's good for the company to understand its employees' sentiments. But it is inappropriate to ask questions related to the collective bargaining process."
Myers estimated that about 20 pilots had been interviewed.
Northwest, which has lost nearly $2.2 billion on its operations and shed 17,000 employees in the past three years, is seeking $442 million in annual wage and other labor cost concessions from pilots.
The employee survey was initiated at the direction of the "People Committee" of the airline's board of directors. The committee, which advises Northwest about company policies and employee communications, includes three union representatives.
The survey, which began last month, is wrapping up. Phone and face-to-face interviews and focus group meetings have been employed to collect the opinions of a representative sample of the airline's 39,000 employees, said airline spokesman Bill Mellon.
"The intention was to get a cross-section of employees and understand their feelings about working for Northwest Airlines, good and bad, and better understand the vehicles that our employees would like to receive communications," he said. To get "honest feedback," Northwest hired an outside firm to conduct the survey, he added.
The survey company agreed to avoid labor issues, even if employees headed in that direction, Mellon said.
The People Committee will see an analysis of employee comments. "Neither the verbatim notes nor any recordings will be shared with management,'' said Mellon. "Surveyed employees will not be identified."
It's not uncommon to discretely observe focus groups during employee survey efforts, said Mellon. Participants' facial expressions and other physical movements are often as important as what they say, he said.
"You read faces to make sure you are really understanding what people are really saying,'' said Mellon. "It means one thing if a statement is said with a smile; another, if it's said with a frown."
Northwest isn't the only airline to catch flak for chatting up its employees.
Since last summer, Texas-based American Airlines has held focus groups with front-line employees and established work groups with managers and rank-and-file workers to evaluate that airline's shortcomings and propose solutions.
Some candidates for a union leadership post at American are skeptical of the effort and American management's commitment to heal its scarred relations with its 79,000 employees.
Hmmmmm. Sounds like some "Blunt" talks to me......
BYe BYe---General Lee
BY MARTIN J. MOYLAN
Pioneer Press
An ongoing Northwest Airlines' survey of its employees' attitudes toward the airline is producing anger and distrust among some workers who believe they were asked inappropriate questions.
Some employee comments have been taped and some focus group sessions have been observed through a one-way mirror. And union leaders say interviewers have probed issues that should only be brought up at the bargaining table — such as employees' readiness to accept wage cuts and their reactions to a potential bankruptcy.
The Eagan-based airline says it has stopped asking the troublesome questions and that employees were informed of the taping and observations. Northwest management will get a summary of the surveys but not raw notes or recordings.
Nonetheless, District 143 of the International Association of Machinists has advised members to refuse interview requests. And the pilots' union has asked Northwest to stop surveying its members. Both unions are in contract talks with Northwest.
"Don't attend,'' said Bobby De Pace, president of District 143, which represents sales and reservation agents, baggage handlers and other ground workers. "First, there should not be any questions regarding bankruptcy. That's for negotiations. Secondly, I was told that these interviews are being recorded — another no-no."
Northwest, which is seeking nearly $1 billion in annual wage and other concessions from employees, says any taping or one-way mirror use has been done with the knowledge of employees, who have participated voluntarily.
Managers won't see any individual's comments, the airline insists. And it says it revised its line of questioning to avoid issues that could be deemed related to contract negotiations.
Pilot union leaders also objected to some of the questions. Outside interviewers working under contract to Northwest asked pilots bargaining-related questions, the union says. The union says it asked the airline to stop the interviews and Northwest has complied.
"We had reports from several pilots that they had been asked questions that could be construed as related to bargaining,'' said union spokesman Hal Myers, a Northwest pilot. "It's good for the company to understand its employees' sentiments. But it is inappropriate to ask questions related to the collective bargaining process."
Myers estimated that about 20 pilots had been interviewed.
Northwest, which has lost nearly $2.2 billion on its operations and shed 17,000 employees in the past three years, is seeking $442 million in annual wage and other labor cost concessions from pilots.
The employee survey was initiated at the direction of the "People Committee" of the airline's board of directors. The committee, which advises Northwest about company policies and employee communications, includes three union representatives.
The survey, which began last month, is wrapping up. Phone and face-to-face interviews and focus group meetings have been employed to collect the opinions of a representative sample of the airline's 39,000 employees, said airline spokesman Bill Mellon.
"The intention was to get a cross-section of employees and understand their feelings about working for Northwest Airlines, good and bad, and better understand the vehicles that our employees would like to receive communications," he said. To get "honest feedback," Northwest hired an outside firm to conduct the survey, he added.
The survey company agreed to avoid labor issues, even if employees headed in that direction, Mellon said.
The People Committee will see an analysis of employee comments. "Neither the verbatim notes nor any recordings will be shared with management,'' said Mellon. "Surveyed employees will not be identified."
It's not uncommon to discretely observe focus groups during employee survey efforts, said Mellon. Participants' facial expressions and other physical movements are often as important as what they say, he said.
"You read faces to make sure you are really understanding what people are really saying,'' said Mellon. "It means one thing if a statement is said with a smile; another, if it's said with a frown."
Northwest isn't the only airline to catch flak for chatting up its employees.
Since last summer, Texas-based American Airlines has held focus groups with front-line employees and established work groups with managers and rank-and-file workers to evaluate that airline's shortcomings and propose solutions.
Some candidates for a union leadership post at American are skeptical of the effort and American management's commitment to heal its scarred relations with its 79,000 employees.
Hmmmmm. Sounds like some "Blunt" talks to me......
BYe BYe---General Lee
