Blogs Aug 22, 2012 at 8:54 am

Comments

1
So they're doing what Hansen's arena will do? Poverty wages and very little healthcare for arena workers, which is the industry standard? Good job, Alaska! Here, have some public money!
2
According to my wingnut relatives this is exactly how it is supposed to be. Same with the article before this one about low salaries for day care workers and teachers: they make enough (or even too much). Because Capitalism! And low airfares (ignore for a moment that most of them never have and never will take a plane anywhere).

When i point out how depending on ER's and low-cost clinics is akin to supporting socialism they get this blank, glassy stare.
3
We should not be surprised when companies take advantage of the law to maximize company profits. That's inherent in the structure of corporations, and it is more or less a good thing.

Instead, we should change the law such that companies can not take advantage of it.
4
There are security concerns here too.
5
Corporate greed and a customer base who wants to pay next to nothing for everything they purchase is just a bad mix.
6
unionize and strike.
7
Relying on a corporation to do the right thing is pointless, a corporation is amoral, and will act only in the interest of it’s shareholders, the solution here is twofold, one is with the Port Of Seattle, if we elected pro-labor Port Commissioners, they could impose a Davis-Bacon type law at the airport, secondly workers must be organized, a national card check law should be a priority.
8
Following up on @7 - Goldy, why don't you ask Gael Tarleton what she thinks about this?
9
Agreed with @7. The price in labor markets is set by supply and demand, so it's pointless to complain when a firm tries to get the best price from its perspective. @6 is right that unionization is the right way to go if you want to set a price floor for the wage. Although public campaigns against firms to get them to change their behavior are occasionally effective, as was the case against tuna brands before Dolphin-safe tuna. Back then, people like me were saying, "you're wasting your time," and activists won. I'm assuming that Goldy hasn't flown Alaska airlines since he started blogging about the wages. Right, Goldy?
10
I meant to say "However public campaigns against firms..." Sorry.
11
This would explain why Alaska's baggage handlers were busted in a theft scheme a few years ago.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo…

The reason we pay cops a robust wage is to prevent the corruption that has destroyed countries like Mexico. Keep under paying the people in charge of airplanes, and we'll see that system collapse too.
12
Bizarre, since Alaska treats their actual employees quite well. I guess this is where they get their money back.

13
@6 they were unionized Alaska Airlines employees on the ramp 7 years ago. The last 10 years at AAG has been a good long run of unfaithful negotiations and contracting out full workgroups in the dead of night (ramp, cleaning, mechanical, etc), all to save money at the expense of their reputation. Menzies (the ground operations contractor) is just particularly shitty.
14
Ain't free-market capitalism grand?

While I agree that AA should hire contractors that pay a living wage, this kind of argument is immature and unconstructive.

A story about a public school treating its students badly:

"Ain't public education grand?"

A story about a patient in Canada being mistreated.

"Ain't socialized medicine grand?"

Those would be terrible, immature statements to make based on those cases. It's not about the system. It's about the behavior of the individuals in that system. Socialized medicine, like public education, and free-market capitalism, works well for lots of people and improves their lives.

Rationally discussing the bad behavior of individuals within a system and the best way to combat that behavior means resisting the knee-jerk ideological condemnation of entire systems that, when practiced in good faith by competent people, usually work.
15
@ 14
The “Ain’t Free Market capitalism Grand” remark is a sarcastic reference to the fact that low wage employers, like these contractors, or Walmart are subsidized by the taxpayer when their employees use taxpayer funded services to make up for the lack of wages from their jobs
16
@15

If that's the case, then I unreservedly apologize to Goldy and everyone else for my rant. It's a statement I frequently hear from ideologues of all stripes who use an example of individuals acting badly to condemn a system, and I too quickly interpreted it that way.
17
Asking corporations to fix these kinds of problems is pointless, especially in this time of (admittedly self-created) economic crisis. We've trusted corporations to do the right thing for too long, already. Whether or not corporations are people, many have not been good citizens. We need a cultural change that edifies civic responsibility.
18
@17,

While I wouldn't complain about a cultural change that emphasizes civic responsibility, what I would prefer to see is legislation and governmental regulations that force companies to behave responsibly. Because, even if big corporations can be shamed into behaving themselves, the overwhelming majority of businesses are not large corporations. All workers deserve adequate pay and benefits and workplace protections.
19
How does that compare with other airlines at Sea Tac? I'd happily stop flying Alaska over this if it doesn't mean giving money to an airline that does the exact same thing.
20
I will add an unbiased post based on facts I have witnessed. If a business is priced out of a market, that business will find somewhere else to thrive. My example is Boeing. Flight training in Puget Sound is gone. Two 787 lines are now in South Carolina. Headquarters are now in Chicago. Product Support Engineering is splintered across the country. Alaska Airlines, if priced out of the Puget Sound area, will find some place else to do business. What will happen to these jobs then? Does anyone remember the bill board "Will the last person leaving Seattle...turn out the lights." Boeing is GOING! Mark my words. Alaska will do the same.

Please wait...

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