The annual shareholder's meeting didn't turn out too well for the CEO of American Airlines, Gerard Arpey. Arpey kept trying to change the subject and talk about how his management team had saved the airlines and brought it back to profitability.
But the shareholders and employees would have none of it. They knew who had saved the airline - the employees who agreed to large cuts in their pay several years ago to keep the organization afloat. They were repaid by being ignored, while 800 executives divided up $160 million in bonuses last month.
The shareholders kept bringing the subject back to the payment of the bonuses, and how unfair it was to enrich management while the backbone of the company, the employees, still labor under the stringent paycuts.
Arpey seems to think the most important people in the company are the beancounters. He seems to have forgotten that there would be no beans to count without the dedication and hard work of frontline employees. These people should have had their pay restored before the subject of executive bonuses was even discussed. After this greedy move, how can employees trust the company executives?
The employees got no sympathy from Arpey, as he told them they would just have to "agree to disagree". But he may be singing a different tune next year, when the employees get their turn at bat.
Next year, the union contracts start coming up for renewal. You can bet that the employees will remember the greed shown by executives this year, and they'll be demanding their share of the pie.
I hope they don't give in until they get it.
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