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Letting Go Of Our Workforce
by Kim Morrise, The Weather Channel
December 19, 2008
A
ny day you watch the news now, thousands more people have lost their jobs. Having a
journalism degree, not a business one, I am watching and reading anything I can to understand it
all.
I just watched a CNBC special on General Motors called
Saving GM: Inside the Crisis. It really shined a light on how GM got to where
it is right now. I started understanding the argument against bailing them out. Then I
saw the parts about the workers and wanted to help them in any way I could. I felt especially
bad for those small companies that have GM as one of their biggest clients. They have to make
cuts, and it’s because they are losing the biggest chunk of their business, not because they made
bad business choices.
I also saw a great story on CBS Sunday Morning yesterday about the WPA, Work Progress
Administration. Franklin D. Roosevelt started it with the goal of putting Americans back to
work during the Great Depression.
It’s a sticky debate when you start talking about government programs. The debate is
rattling about my head right now. I wrote recently about the positives to government
assistance and how I believe those with more should help those with less. I stick by this
belief fully.
However, when we start talking about bailing out companies, I give great pause. I want
to bail out the workers but not necessarily the companies. Going back to
Saving GM for a moment, GM made some pretty bad choices over the past few decades.
Its reputation dwindled as they put lower quality cars on the market. They also relied too
heavily on trucks and SUVs. They made business choices that weren’t always smart over the
years and now they are facing a financial crisis that goes beyond the economy. The employees
did not make those decisions; the leaders did.
The current CEO of GM, Rick Wagoner, has agreed to only work for $1 next year. This is
the kind of solution I want to hear about across the board. The leaders need to be the first
one taking a hit. Most times, they can afford to take one. I’m not sure working for $1
should be the solution across the board, but I think many on top can afford to make cuts to save
those down below.
My husband and I watched many talented employees leave our companies the past several
weeks. We aren’t ignorant of the need to cut costs, and we know cutting staff is one of the
easiest and fastest ways to do it. Believe me, I understand this. However, when the
economy turns around we are going to need talented, experienced employees. We will need
people like the ones who were let go. I’d love for someone who is much smarter than I am to
come up with a solution. Is there a way to keep jobs and cut expenses as much as these
companies need to cut? It may be out of sympathy or hope, but my husband and I believe there
has to be a way. We just wonder if anyone has taken a fresh look at the problem, much like
Roosevelt did during The Great Depression.
Is there a WPA for the new era? Can we come up with a way for people to stay employed
during times when paying for a worker is not cost-effective? How can we stop this cycle
from ruining families and taking away people’s homes? I know we’re no where near The Great
Depression, but each time I see someone lose his or her home or job, I feel a little closer to
it. It makes me want to come up with that solution that no one else has. With all the
people who are more qualified than I am, my hope is that we will.
The opinions expressed by Kim Morrise and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of The Weather Channel Companies or any employee thereof. The Weather Channel Companies are not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied in Atlanta Woman magazine blogs.
