WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR LIFE FOR YOUR COMPANY? -- PART 2

Let’s climb back into this saddle for a bit.

I left off in Part 1 talking about how disingenuous the leaders of corporations can be. How they sing a song of unity with the workers but have little in common with them and show little real care for them.

It seems to me that, especially in tough times, the calls for those lower down the totem pole to tighten their belts is, well, diametrically wrong.

How about this: How about they pay us more and we work less? How about they slash their salaries to something nearer to a sane level and put the money back into the salary kitty for us all to divide up?

Can’t you just hear them howling foul? Because when leading execs say “We must tighten our belts,” what they’re really saying is “You must tighten your belts.” The word “We” is not really in the Fat Cat Lexicon.

And I can give you an example that’s really close to home. In 2009, Gary Loveman, the president and CEO of Harrah’s, made 666 times more than I did. (I know that the 666 sounds like a gimmick, but that’s what the calculator came up with.) Now, I may not throw my heart and soul into my job, but I have to think that Mr. Loveman, Harvard pedigree and all, is not working 666 times harder than me.

I know the arguments: He's a wonderboy specialist; he’s supremely skilled; he has connections on Capitol Hill; he works 100 hours a week; he knows God personally. Yes, I got it. Let me repeat: 666 times what I make! Personally, I don’t care if he’s laying golden eggs, that’s just plain obscene.

Of course, Mr. Loveman did speak to we corporate peons at the Christmas party in the ballroom at the Rio in Vegas. He even brought slides of his family because, y’know, he’s just a family man like us. Except that he flies around on a private jet and doesn’t have to worry about medical bills, rent, heat or paying for his kids' top-drawer college educations. His smarmy speech reminded me of the title of a Warren Zevon (pictured) song: Even a dog can shake hands.

When I look at people like Loveman, and even middle managers and lower ranking "yes men/women," I wonder how their brains work. What is it they’re striving for? If they bust their humps for the corporation do they think they’ll achieve some kind of capitalist or personal nirvana? To me, there seems to be no meaningful end for all the means applied. As they say, there’s no “there” there. On my deathbed I hope to be able to reflect on something a little deeper than how many rungs up the corporate ladder to nowhere I climbed. And let’s face it: Corporations don’t really do much good for anybody. They're profit machines. Period.

So that’s the gloom. Where’s it leave us?

Well it’s easier to pontificate on this stuff than to solve it. And most people need to work regardless of what they’re doing: razing rainforests, crunching numbers for insurance companies, or coming up with ways to get people to gamble. It’s easy to feel hopeless and just not think about it.

But that’s the biggest mistake we can make. If you want a better life for your children, if you want a better world, it’s going to take a bit of suffering. The good news is that the dividends are much more gratifying than those you get suffering for a corporation.

I suggest talking to colleagues. Reading up on corporations and the history of the labor movement. Writing down on a piece of paper, in priority order, the things in your life that are most important to you and why. If there’s a union available to you, join it. If there’s not, think about how you might bring one into your workplace – though, admittedly, that’s a very tough undertaking.

You can speak up more to your boss. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets oiled; sometimes it gets fired. You’ll have to weigh that up.

Consider going into the non-profit sector and working for a worthwhile organization and helping to fight the good fight.

But even if you can’t readily change your work situation directly, there are many things you can do outside of work to try and change the economy and the culture of greed. Join groups (even if they're online groups), sign petitions (again, even if they're online), contact your local politicians about issues, make your voice heard any way you can.

Let me give you a very concrete starting point that might fire up your own thinking on the subject. Go to the website of Corporate Accountability International (http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/) and look around. If you pull on that thread, you’ll soon be starting on your own tapestry.

My final point: The day will have to come when we don't just change certain issues or particular workplaces, but we change the very institutions that shape our society, our economy and our thinking. That is the Big Task. But it is attainable. As this blog goes on, I'll talk more about how we can do some serious world changing.

Til next time, keep smiling,
Adrian Zupp
PS: I've emailed Gary Loveman a couple of times asking when Harrah's employees might expect to have their sick leave benefit reinstated. So far, no word from the big man.

MAYBE IT’S JUST ME… BUT I DOUBT IT VERY MUCH

A short digression from my two-part piece on the company-individual relationship – but one that is entirely apropos.

As I stated previously, I work for the world’s largest gambling company, Harrah's Inc. This is not something I’m proud of but, like most people, I need a job. I don’t plan to stay long.

Here’s the thing. During the current depression, the lords of Harrah’s have been crying poor. Telling their workforce that they’ll have to tighten their belts, cutting out all sick leave (and doing a thimble-and-pea trick with “PTO” or paid time off), freezing raises, laying people off, and so on and so forth. The usual “belt tightening” that generally applies to the belts of the many who can least afford it and not so much to the fat cats with the longest belts.

Pretty much standard operating procedure for most companies who are experiencing "tough times" – which doesn’t make it right, of course. Although I must say, that of all the companies I’ve worked for, Harrah’s is the most ruthless.

For all the talk from phonies like president Gary Loveman (pictured) about pulling together, being a family, care for the workers (the usual BS that they must be teaching in MBA programs), I’ve seen a lot of suffering and meanness at Harrah’s.

I’ll cover more of this ground in Part 2 of WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR LIFE FOR YOUR COMPANY?, but a recent turn of events at Harrah’s warranted special mention. You see, for all their cutting back and laying off and lying and propagandizing, the struggling Harrah’s recently found enough coin in the coffers to purchase the 2,500-room Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino: a prime Las Vegas Strip property.

As miracles go, this must surely rank right up there with “Take up thy mat and walk.”

Maximum-profit-driven companies like Harrah’s often seem to enjoy adding insult to injury. There have been many insults doled out by this paragon of greed. They have insulted their workers’ rights, dignity, dependents and more.

But perhaps the greatest insult is that the elitists with their hands on the levers believe that their more than 80,000 employees* are nothing better than a bunch of simpletons.

*FOOTNOTE: This passage is verbatim Harrah’s corporation propaganda from the About Us section of the company website:

“Our Employees
At Harrah´s Entertainment, over 80,000 employees each make a unique contribution to your experiences, and to our ultimate success. From nurturing a sense of team with co-workers ... to improving the quality of life in their communities, Harrah's Entertainment sets the standard of excellence in the gaming industry with employees who are devoted to delivering truly great service. Our employees are critical to our success.

Our company truly is distinguished by its talented and dedicated employees. We recognize and reward superior contributions and outstanding achievements.”


Take care,
Adrian Zupp