It’s one of those times when HR and senior management throw up their hands and let out a collective groan about unions. I’m referring to all the complaining and shortsighted negativity labour leaders heaped on Air Canada for having the “audacity” to spend money hiring Céline Dion to promote the airline.
Emerging from the cloud of bankruptcy protection, Air Canada has launched a new marketing campaign, complete with new colours and branding for planes and uniforms. Much to its credit, the company put a new face on a troubled past and boldly stepped into the competitive hunt for travellers’ business. As spokesperson for the airline, Dion will certainly boost Air Canada’s visibility in the market.
Dion is an international sensation and, in airports from Paris to Los Angeles, as recognizably Canadian as Mounties and beavers. But rather than viewing her signing as a media coup, union representatives are complaining about the cost of hiring Dion at a time when workers are still being laid off — as if union leaders should have some say over the marketing department’s budget.
So, instead of appreciating a strategy designed to attract more customers (a key to keeping airline workers employed), and joining in the celebratory launch of the new image, the unions had Canada’s newspapers and television stations also sending out a message about grumbling, unhappy workers.
Union heads seemed particularly annoyed that the company would give a nod to staff morale and have Dion perform three-song sets for employees in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
“This extravaganza and glitz is a bad idea. It’s just a waste,” bemoaned Pamela Sachs of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
“It’s an insult to have that kind of opulence,” Paul Lefebvre of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers whined to the Toronto Star.
Not only is a sound advertising strategy being criticized, but labour leaders are outraged that someone at Air Canada would bother thinking about employee morale and including free shows by Dion in the package. (This isn’t about whether one likes Dion’s music or not. Personally, I’d find one of her concerts cruel and unusual punishment, but that’s no reason to side with unions on this one. Each to their own tastes, and there’s no denying her star attraction and popularity.)
So, what’s the next union complaint? Do away with free peanuts and put the savings into the pension plan?
Instead of rushing to fly on a revitalized Air Canada, would-be passengers must be wondering about having to spend hours locked in a plane with disgruntled workers. How this helps secure the jobs unions are concerned about is as big a mystery as the interest in Dion’s music. But, hey, I guess they couldn’t get Randy Bachman.
Emerging from the cloud of bankruptcy protection, Air Canada has launched a new marketing campaign, complete with new colours and branding for planes and uniforms. Much to its credit, the company put a new face on a troubled past and boldly stepped into the competitive hunt for travellers’ business. As spokesperson for the airline, Dion will certainly boost Air Canada’s visibility in the market.
Dion is an international sensation and, in airports from Paris to Los Angeles, as recognizably Canadian as Mounties and beavers. But rather than viewing her signing as a media coup, union representatives are complaining about the cost of hiring Dion at a time when workers are still being laid off — as if union leaders should have some say over the marketing department’s budget.
So, instead of appreciating a strategy designed to attract more customers (a key to keeping airline workers employed), and joining in the celebratory launch of the new image, the unions had Canada’s newspapers and television stations also sending out a message about grumbling, unhappy workers.
Union heads seemed particularly annoyed that the company would give a nod to staff morale and have Dion perform three-song sets for employees in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
“This extravaganza and glitz is a bad idea. It’s just a waste,” bemoaned Pamela Sachs of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
“It’s an insult to have that kind of opulence,” Paul Lefebvre of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers whined to the Toronto Star.
Not only is a sound advertising strategy being criticized, but labour leaders are outraged that someone at Air Canada would bother thinking about employee morale and including free shows by Dion in the package. (This isn’t about whether one likes Dion’s music or not. Personally, I’d find one of her concerts cruel and unusual punishment, but that’s no reason to side with unions on this one. Each to their own tastes, and there’s no denying her star attraction and popularity.)
So, what’s the next union complaint? Do away with free peanuts and put the savings into the pension plan?
Instead of rushing to fly on a revitalized Air Canada, would-be passengers must be wondering about having to spend hours locked in a plane with disgruntled workers. How this helps secure the jobs unions are concerned about is as big a mystery as the interest in Dion’s music. But, hey, I guess they couldn’t get Randy Bachman.
