FDL: Jetblue, Corporate Waste & Update on Emp Free Choice Act

[mod mom]

February 27th, 2007
JetBlue, Corporate Waste and Update on the Employee Free Choice Act
By Tula Connell @ 6:00 pm

JetBlue chairman, CEO and founder David Neeleman is getting lots of kudos for his multiple mea culpas after JetBlue stranded passengers for hours in planes sitting on icy Northeast tarmacs.

But let’s take a closer look at the other Neeleman. The vitriolically anti-union Neeleman who has prevented JetBlue staff from forming unions—an attitude all too many corporations take today, encouraged by the nation’s weak labor laws. In a San Francisco Chronicle article a few years ago, Neeleman explains why he thinks unions are not needed for companies such as his.

Q: Would you resist a labor-organizing effort at JetBlue?

A: We would. I love American history, and I’ve studied it. I understand we had a big need for unions in this country. You basically had unscrupulous people who were building companies on the backs of their people without giving them health care and without giving them other benefits. They made them take on hazardous jobs and work long hours.

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http://www.firedoglake.com/