-- | Crisis is business, as usual

TEMPI DI CRISI. Allora che succede? Succedono cose strane, succede che uno steward impazzisce, apre uno scivolo, prende due birre e se ne va a casa. Perde il lavoro? E che farà? Semplice, ne farà un altro. Ho letto da poco un articolo su Newsweek molto intelligente, che da questo piccolo episodio fa un'analisi dell'economia attuale. E' in inglese e non ho voglia di tradurlo, per cui armatevi di pazienza e dateci un'occhiata, vi assicuro che ne vale la pena.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/15/what-the-jetblue-guy-says-about-the-economy.html

On Aug. 9, Jetblue flight attendant Steven Slater gave new meaning to the term “exit interview.” Angered at the boorish behavior of a passenger, he picked up the intercom, loudly submitted his resignation, grabbed two beers, and slid down the escape chute.

The same day, a front-page article in The Wall Street Journal documented the plight of employers who were shocked that people weren’t interested in the jobs they were offering. The aggrieved included an Illinois company offering skilled machinists a below-market $13 per hour (about $26,000 per year), and an airline in Dubai that couldn’t grasp why Americans weren’t rushing to take up residence in a nondemocratic emirate halfway around the world for the irresistible annual wage of…$30,000.

For people of a certain age, such anecdotes evoke something like nostalgia. It was 1976, a time of similar economic hardship, when stressed-out newscaster Howard Beale—as played by Peter Finch in the movie Network—urged his viewers to stick their heads out the window and scream: “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Two years later, Johnny Paycheck had a hit with the song “Take This Job and Shove It.”

It may seem ironic that signs of employee dissatisfaction should emerge at a time of high unemployment, but it’s hardly surprising. For the two phenomena—the poor labor market and workers’ antagonism toward employers and customers—are actually connected. Employees are sick and tired of tough conditions and crummy salaries.

The economy has been growing for a year, and corporate profits have surged—Standard & Poor’s estimates that income of the S&P 500 rose nearly 52 percent in the second quarter of 2010 over the same period in 2009. Much of that impressive growth has been driven by the remarkable gains in efficiency and productivity that corporate America has notched since the recession took hold. Last year, productivity—the ability to produce more with less—soared 3.5 percent, up from 1 percent growth in 2008 and 1.6 percent in 2007. Yes, companies have embraced the Gospel of Cost Cutting with missionary zeal—printing on both sides of the page, eliminating bottled water, turning off the lights. But most of the gains came straight out of payroll. Companies slashed salaries and curtailed benefits, all while asking shellshocked veterans to pick up the slack for downsized colleagues. Even as business picked up, companies have been extremely slow to hire; the private sector has added just 630,000 jobs so far this year. And when it comes to wages and benefits, corporate America’s bean counters could make Scrooge blush. Many of the firms that slashed pay or cut 401(k) matches haven’t restored them even though their balance sheets and profits are now healthy.

Look, unemployment can be enormously stressful. But under today’s conditions, employment can also get on your nerves. In fact, Slater’s cathartic meltdown came several hours before a government news release signaled that companies have pushed workers about as far as they can go. For the past year, the U.S. economy has been whipping roughly the same number of workers to do more, produce more, serve more, with each passing week, without much assistance, and without much of a raise. Over the past four quarters, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, “unit labor costs fell 2.8 percent as output per hour increased faster than hourly compensation.” But when the BLS reported the second-quarter productivity numbers on Tuesday, Aug. 10, the results were a little shocking. For the first time in several years, productivity actually fell—at a 0.9 percent annual rate. Workers put in more hours, but output didn’t keep up. They simply can’t run any faster.

Slater’s self-ejection vividly illustrates the personal story behind the numbers. The last couple of years have been a golden era for employers—they’ve found that they can hire whom they want at lower wages, and that it’s easier to retain folks without having to boost salaries. But at some point companies that want to grow will have to break down and hire new people, or turn part-timers into full-timers, or put contractors on the payroll. Many employers are treating existing and potential employees as if they’re desperate for work. And plenty of Americans are. But desperate times can lead to desperate measures. Push your workforce too hard without adequate reward, and someone just might tell you to take this job and shove it.

QUOTE OF THE DAY | God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. Tyler Durden/Brad Pitt, Fight Club, by David Fincher, 1999

-- | Fallen angels

Poche settimane fa, nel corso di alcuni lavori di scavo nell'ambito del progetto di costruzione di New Lisbon, la mia equipe ha rinvenuto un ammaccato bauletto di alluminio sepolto tra le macerie di un vecchio edificio pombalino situato nella zona di Baixa.

Il bauletto -che forse dovrei chiamare più opportunamente "macchina del tempo"- conteneva, oltre ad alcuni effetti personali (delle foto, un paio di libri, un fiore secco, un cigno di origami e poco altro ancora), una sorta di diario di cui mi piacerebbe condividere con voi alcuni passi, per recuperare dei frammenti di vita passata.

L'autore è un uomo, probabilmente morto da tempo, di cui ignoro il nome e pertanto lo chiamerò Nemo, che all'inizio del secolo lavorava come assistente di volo per una compagnia aerea a basso costo chiamata Land Rarity Airlines. In quei tempi le low cost andavano di moda, ma fortunatamente oggi non esistono più, la gente ha finalmente capito che "basso costo" o addirittura "gratis" sono parole da cui bisogna diffidare. C'è sempre un prezzo da pagare, e se non lo paghiamo noi lo pagano i Cinesi, o gli Indiani, o qualcuno meno fortunato, o la natura, o le nuove generazioni.

Ma sto divagando...lasciate che vi riporti alcune delle piccole storie quotidiane di Nemo, nella speranza che possano suscitare in voi la stessa curiosità e lo stesso interesse che hanno suscitato in me. Buona lettura.

Few weeks ago, while we were doing some digging for building New Lisbon, my team found a dented aluminium box amongst the debris of an old Pombaline building in Baixa area.

Inside the box -which I should call "time machine"- were some personal effects (some pics, a couple of books, a dry flower, an origami swan and few more) and a sort of diary that I'd like to share with you, to get an idea of the life at the beginning of the century.

The writer is a man whose name I don't know, so I called him Nemo. He worked as cabin crew for a low cost airline called Land Rarity. At the time low cost airlines were the trend, but fortunately nowadays they don't exist anymore, finally people understood that "low cost" or "for free" are not words to trust in. There's always a price to pay, and if we don't pay by ourselves somebody else is gonna pay, the Chineses, the Indians, somebody less lucky than us, or the Nature or the next generations.

But I'm digressing...let me tell you some little daily stories by Nemo, with the hope that you can find them as curious and interesting as I did. Have a nice reading.

Mi trovavo a Siviglia dalla mattina presto, con largo anticipo rispetto alla partenza del mio volo, per aver dovuto accompagnare all'aeroporto una cara amica che partiva per Atene a metà giornata. Una volta salutatala mi restavano ancora parecchie ore da trascorrere nella capitale andalusa, dove avrei successivamente lasciato la mia auto per recarmi nuovamente in aeroporto in tempo per prendere il volo per Cagliari, dove la mia famiglia mi stava aspettando in attesa di riabbracciarmi dopo un'estate passata tra un aeroporto e l'altro, trasportando mandrie di Inglesi ed Irlandesi desiderosi di addentare i nostri panini e i nostri hamburgers e sfondarsi di birra sulle terrazze dei bar delle coste d'Algarve.

Dal momento che gia mi trovavo in aeroporto pensai di approfittarne per pesare il mio bagaglio da stiva, poichè per ogni chilo extra Land Rarity mi avrebbe fatto pagare quasi l'equivalente di metà biglietto, cortesia delle low cost.. I banchi check-in di LR erano chiusi, per cui chiesi ad una signorina che lavorava per Vueling se potevo utilizzare la sua bilancia per pesare la mia valigia, solo per sentirmi negare la cortesia. Riprovai al check-in di Iberia, stessa risposta: nessuno voleva concedermi il favore di lasciarmi poggiare per pochi istanti il mio bagaglio sulla bilancia. Provai un misto di delusione e stupore: ci vuole solo un secondo per la pesa, perchè gli impiegati del check-in mi rifiutavano questa semplice gentilezza? Finalmente chiesi la ragione e una di loro mi rispose, senza neanche sapere con che compagnia volassi:

-Lei viaggia con LR signore, ci hanno proibito di pesarvi le valige perchè neanche LR offre questo servizio-

E da quando una cortesia si chiama servizio? Ancora una volta provai vergogna a volare e addirittura a far parte di LR, odiati in tutti gli aeroporti d'Europa per colpa del marchio che ci portiamo addosso. La nostra stessa compagnia ci tratta di merda e i colleghi delle altre sono spesso ostili, ma non possiamo farci niente, non è colpa nostra se la politica di LR lascia poco spazio all'umanità nel nome del gran dio Capitale che sta trasformando le persone in esseri senza morale e senza palle. Noi eravamo solo dei poveri Polacchi, Italiani, Lituani, Portoghesi o Spagnoli e altri ancora senza lavoro in un mondo che aveva perso la bussola ed eravamo costretti a travestirci per metà da assistenti di volo e per metà da pagliacci vendicazzate. Se voi aveste smesso di comprare cazzate, forse noi avremmo smesso di venderle. La saggezza popolare dice che il lavoro nobilita l'uomo, però per essere nobili ci vuole molto di più che un semplice lavoro.

Comunque mi andò ancora bene rispetto alla volta in cui mi lasciarono a terra nell'ultimo dell'anno e non mi restituirono neanche un penny. Staff travel, lo chiamavano. Ce lo facevano pagare per poi trattarci come dei paria a cui stanno facevano quasi il favore di prenderci a bordo. Ma il lavoro è sacro, i tempi cambiano e c'è la crisi, diceva la gente. C'era sempre, la crisi. La crisi era nei nostri cuori, nei nostri stomaci e nelle nostre menti che ogni giorno accettavano sempre più di vivere in un mondo con pochi diritti e molti doveri, in LR come in tutte le cose. Siamo degli angeli caduti, e le nostre ali non volano più.

Alla fine mi rassegnai a lasciare l'auto nel centro di Siviglia e a recarmi in aeroporto senza aver pesato il bagaglio, sperando che parte dello stipendio che percepivo da LR non rientrasse nelle casse di LR grazie ai privilegi che mi erano concessi per essere parte del giovane e dinamico staff della nostra compagnia.

Finalmente riuscii a partire, lontano dagli aeroporti e lontano dal mondo, almeno per un po'.

I was in Seville since early morning, in advance on my flight's departure because I had to give a lift to the airport to a friend who was going to Athens at midday. After saying goodbye I still had some hours to spend in the capital of Andalucia, where I was going to leave my car before going back to the airport in the evening and take a flight to Cagliari, where my family was waiting me after a long summer spent transporting herds of Britishmen or Irishmen willing to bite our paninis or our hamburgers and drink tanks of beer on the esplanades of the bars of Algarve.

Since I were already in the airport I thought to take advantage of it to weight my hold luggage, since Land Rarity asks almost half of the ticket's price for every extra kilo, courtesy of low cost airlines...LR's check-in desks were closed, so I asked a girl working for Vueling if it was possible to weight my luggage in her desk, but she said no. I tried again at Iberia's check-in desk, again the girl said no: nobody wanted to do this little favour to me. I was both disappointed and surprised, because it takes only a second to weight a bag but the guys there weren't willing to help me at all. In the end I asked the reason of this behaviour and one of the girl, without knowing the airline I was flying with, said to me:

-Mister, you fly with LR and since they don't provide you this service, we are forbidden to help you as well.-

Since when a courtesy is a service? Once more, I was ashamed to fly with LR and to be part of the staff, hated in all the airports of Europe because of the mark on our lives. Our same employers treats us like shit and colleagues of other companies are hostile to us, but there's nothing we can do, not our fault if LR policy is not benevolence but worship the mighty Money who makes people like zombies with no moral law and no guts. We were only poor Poles, Italians, Lithuanians, Portugueses or Spaniards with no job in a world who lost its compass and we were forced to dress up half like cabin crew half like bullshit-sellers clowns. If you people would have stop buying crap, maybe we would have stop selling it. Worldly wisdom says that work makes men noble beings, but to be noble we need more than just a job.

Anyway I was pretty lucky compared to the time when I was denied the boarding on New Year's Eve and I didn't get back not even a penny. They called it Staff Travel. We always paid that but we were like outcasts to them, it looked that they were doing us a favour to let us fly. But work is sacred, times are changing and there's the crisis, people said. There is always the crisis. It was in our hearts, our stomaches and our minds that every day accepted to live in a world with few rights and lot of duties, in LR like in any other thing. We are like fallen angels, and our wings don't fly anymore.

In the end I resigned myself to leave my car in downtown Seville and go to the airport without having weighted my luggage first, hoping that part of the salary I got from LR would not have back to LR's treasury thanks to the privilege I had as part of its crew.

Finally I managed to leave, far from airports and far from the world, at least for a while.

PIC OF THE DAY | On the borderline

CASTRO MARIM | Fotografando