Never seen such visceral reactions to the downsizing of a business! You can argue the pros and cons of unions till you are blue in the face, but here are the facts:
- CA had NEVER to my knowledge made a profit. Even in the boom years, CS was still losing money. Revenue was going up, but you can only run a company for so long at a loss before bad things start to happen.
- I distinctly remember SO saying that "If we dont do our jobs, we get the Union we deserve". Well CA got a union and much of the senior management got forced out or has left. You can come to your own conclusions.
- You can argue that Buffetts money kept NetJets going during the tough years, but couldnt Textron have put the same money in during those same years. Textron has/had almost the same money as "Uncle Warren".
- Lastly, just like accidents, one thing DOES NOT automatically lead to declline of a company. You have several factors as play here: Bad economy, broken fractional model, questionable business decisions by management in the process, unmanageable cost structure etc. etc. To say that the UNION alone, with no contract, no legacy costs from the union, and negotiations JUST starting is simply wrong. The "Chain" here is very long.