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Strong winds

Robert Reich Dec 12

Friends,

I’m sitting in the United Airlines terminal at the San Francisco airport. The plane on which I was scheduled to travel to Newark, New Jersey, has already been delayed three times. It was scheduled to depart at 1 pm. It’s now departing at 4:40 pm.

They’re blaming strong winds in the Northeast. But another United flight scheduled to depart at 2:30 pm just took off on time. I asked the service attendant why the 2:30 pm to Newark had departed despite strong winds. He explained that the real problem wasn’t strong winds; it was a lack of air traffic controllers in Newark. My suspicion is United is trying to minimize the number of late flights; rather than risk two, it sacrificed my 1 pm.

I asked the attendant if he thought my flight will actually depart at 4:40, because I have to get to a Hilton Hotel in Elizabeth, New Jersey, by early enough to get a few hours sleep before attending meetings tomorrow morning. The attendant said “there are no guarantees. This flight could depart anytime, or it could be cancelled.”

When I phoned the Hilton Hotel in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to tell them I’d be checking in very late tonight, I got a menu that told me to “press 2” to change or modify a reservation. When I pressed 2, an automated voice said I could not change my current reservation but could make a new reservation. The automated voice also said if I was experiencing any difficulty I should go to the Hilton website.

I found the Hilton website, which asked me to fill in a reservation number. But I didn’t have a reservation number. When I reserved a room, Hilton had given me a confirmation number but not a reservation number. I typed in the confirmation number, but the website said the confirmation number was incorrect.

I spent the next half hour trying to find a human being at the Hilton Hotel to ask them to keep the room for me despite my lateness. Finally, I connected with someone who didn’t understand what I was asking. I asked them where they were located. They said they were not permitted to say.

It’s now 3:35 pm, and I’m still sitting here in the United terminal in San Francisco. The customer service person I just spoke with told me the plane “may or may not take off.” I’m about to phone the people I was to meet with tomorrow to tell them I won’t be there.

I relate this to you because I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the frustrations that might drive people to vote for a strongman who promises to “shake things up” even if he’s intent on destroying our democracy, or might cause people to cheer for someone who murders the CEO of a giant health insurer.

United Airlines is one of four remaining national carriers (there were 10 in 2000). In the third quarter of 2024, it had pre-tax earnings of $1.3 billion, with a pre-tax margin of 8.7 percent. In other words, it’s doing fabulously well.

Hilton Hotels is almost as profitable. In fact, its net operating profits have shot up from what they were a year ago. It’s also doing fabulously well.

Big American corporations are doing better than ever. The stock market has hit record highs. CEO pay is hitting new highs.

But American workers and consumers are being shafted with lousy service at ever more expensive prices.

Something’s got to give. Right?