Bell Atlantic

Michael Eisenscher meisenscher at igc.apc.org
Thu Aug 13 18:56:40 PDT 1998


Maggie,

Thanks for your detailed response. I agree that new tech can be an achilles heel of a complex system as well as a boon to management control and their ability to maintain systems operating during strikes. But unless the systems at Bell Atlantic were significantly different from those installed in other companies, this would not explain why in this case as compared to others, the company folded so quickly. There have been instances where longer strikes were taken because management could count on those technologies to sustain operations at minimal, if erratic, levels without the customary complement of workers. The fact that so many of the Telecom Industry middle-management were promoted from the ranks enhances these firms' capacities to maintain some level of operability during strikes.

I think your other explanations are more persuasive. My question about the M&A developments goes to one of those points. A company that has just undergone a merger, with all its consequent disruptions, and facing a market in which corporate adversaries are circling each other like hungry sharks looking for vulnerabilities, opens itself to both threats and forgone opportunities in rapidly evolving competitive markets when its attention and resources are focused on internal labor relations conflicts. It may be that BA was prepared to pay a premium in order to move ahead with its larger strategic plan for market share and niche influence and did not want to risk being mired in a conflict that would make it particularly vulnerable in corners of its market that represent growth opportunities but also which are open to seizure by a more well-organized, financed, and focused competitor.

This is mostly idle conjecture on my part, however, and I bow to your more initimate first-hand knowledge.

One more question. How do you think the settlement will affect the future of "partnership schemes" within the company? It seems Morty is big on this stuff, particularly when he can find an accommodating partner in management. Will the new contract reinvigorate this thrust, leading some workers to conclude that management is not all that bad or deserves a greater level of cooperation in light of the generally favorable terms of the settlement? Or will selling these schemes be more difficult in light of the confrontation and clear demarcation of interests illuminated by the strike?

In solidarity, Michael E.



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