Anger In Wake Of Court-Imposed Pay Cuts

The 21-percent pay cuts ordered by a federal bankruptcy court showed up on the paychecks of US Airways workers last week and nobody's happy about it -- least of all the workers. So said CEO Bruce Lakefield in his weekly recorded phone message to employees.

"People react in different ways: anger, fear and a lot of sadness," Lakefield said. "While 99.9 percent of our employees are professionals, there are unfortunately those occasional accounts of anger interfering with getting the job done."

Lakefield, quoted in the Washington Post, said workers are "abusing sick time" and "treating customers with disrespect."

There have indeed been impromptu job actions in several parts of the US Airways system. Baggage handlers simply failed to show up for work in Philadelphia last month. Some passengers had to wait an hour-and-a-half for their luggage to hit the carousel.

Last week, the Post reports, the union that represents terminal agents asked its members to authorize a strike.

The situation is only exacerbated by the upcoming holidays. Not only will US Airway's 28,000 employees feel the pay cut most acutely during Thanksgiving and Christmas -- they'll be dealing with the burgeoning holiday crowd. Things could get snarly.

FMI: www.usairways.com