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What next for Delta? By
MARY JANE HOLT
Many of you might argue that journalism offers no clear reality. That may be true. The view afforded us through the eyes of journalists all over the world may be seen through various shades of tinted glass, but seldom is that hue pink. So, last Sunday, March 30, as I read about the recent behavior/action of Delta management, there were no rose-colored glasses within reach. I caught a glimpse of uncomfortable, multicolored reality. Reportedly, Delta paid out more than $17 million to 60 executives in 2002, a year that saw the airline lose $1.3 billion and cut 16,000 jobs. The CEO got the biggest bonus, $1.4 million. He and other top executives had gotten no bonuses in 2001, and Leo Mullin has cut his salary 10 percent for this year. Delta also reported it spent $25.5 million to set up trusts to protect the pensions of 33 executives if the airline sought bankruptcy protection. I turned away from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article several times, not wanting to know all I was learning. The article was clearly exposing a management team at Delta who apparently had chosen last year, behind closed doors, to find a way/s to look out for themselves first and foremost some might say even before they looked out for the company with whose management they were entrusted. Strangely, as I read the article, I recalled several scripture passages. First came a reminder of how all things done in secret eventually come to light. Light and darkness. Scary thought, isn't it? To think (know) that all we do in secret, under the cover of darkness, or behind closed doors, could, might (will) eventually come to light. So, as I understand it from the AJC piece written by Russell Grantham, after 9/11, Delta management immediately began to look for ways to protect their personal pensions/retirement in the event of airline failure across the board. Now, I'm trying real hard here to put myself in the shoes of those at Delta who met in their secret places to discuss how to insulate themselves. I figure fear played a major role in the evolution of such a meeting. That's almost never a good thing. I've been told that fear, controlled fear, can be good for us to an extent. The nation was beyond controlled fear during that period of time immediately following 9/11. We were shocked and terrorized. Enron was a word that was scaring some of us almost as much as Al Qaeda. Would we fall from within or without? It was/is a question that has been posed by many open-minded, rational Americans. As I read the AJC article in which Delta CEO Mullin came out looking like anything but the salvation of the airline industry, I recalled the day I first met him. It was a brief encounter at a funeral. We spoke for only a few minutes. I had a strong first impression. Since then, I've heard him speak several times as a representative of the airline industry and as CEO of Delta, a leading employer in the state of Georgia. Delta ranks among the top world airlines. It is a major player in the economy of metro Atlanta where a number of newspapers that print my column are circulated. As I read about the actions of this man and fought the urge to think that he and his management team had put Delta's survival in even more jeopardy by actions designed to save themselves first, I made a decision. I decided to pray, rather than judge. As I prayed, a strange array of scripture passages rushed in on my mind and heart like a cool and refreshing breeze. First came the words of Christ Himself as I dared to think about passing judgment: "He who is without sin, let him be the first to cast a stone ..." Then came "... and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free ..." Soon I was drawn to chapters 24 and 25 of Proverbs, which are far too lengthy to quote here. In the end, it was not scripture that put the exclamation point at the end of my thoughts. I recalled that shock and terror can bring out the best and worst in an individual, often at the same time. Then came the reminder that the worst thing that happens to a person can turn out to be the best thing if that person does not let it get the best of him. My money is on Mullin. I'm staying with my first impression. I believe he is a man of character, compassion, valuable experience and wisdom. Not above fear and even failure, and certainly not above redemption. I'm banking on Leo's survival and the survival of the airline I hope he can and will choose to have the courage to lead wisely and well in the coming months and years.
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