Deborah Coddington: Harsh reality for employers when staff chuck their toys

At some point in their career, what worker doesn't want to grab the public address system and yell they're mad as hell and not going to take it any more?

Then, like the JetBlue flight attendant at John F. Kennedy airport several weeks back, grab a beer and exit the plane, and the job, in grand manner down the emergency chute?

Steven Slater was promptly arrested and charged with criminal mischief, trespass, and reckless endangerment, but thanks to modern technology, also became hero du jour.

Facebook pages, internet message boards, talkback shows and newspaper columnists lauded his outburst, calling it symptomatic of an overworked, recessioned-out, under-rewarded American workforce, tired of battling the economic gloom.

'Will all stressed-out workforces start acting up?' asked one national newspaper headline, fussing Slater's actions could go viral.

But to paraphrase, those whom the gods wish to destroy, first they make famous. Initial reports suggested passengers' squabbles over baggage room provoked Slater. But as time passed, passengers volunteered he was "erratic", "rude" and "slammed lockers shut".

Nonetheless, most coverage supported the former lolly-lobber who, upon calming down, wanted his job back and - you guessed it - some benefactor started a fund for the inevitable legal David versus Goliath battle.

Can we ever have balanced reporting on these kinds of issues?

In my opinion, Slater behaved like an irresponsible, selfish, impetuous drama queen.

With no thought for his fellow workers, whose job is primarily passenger safety, he stormed off site because someone was rude. Poor luvvy.

Because of strict laws about the requisite number of attendants per passengers, the plane was probably grounded as a result of his tanty and a planeload of passengers - and further flights that day - were affected.

Maybe some other flight attendant, looking forward to a day off with his or her family, was hurriedly called in to work instead.

Working class hero? I don't think so.

What say the employer, catching Slater being rude to passengers, was mad as hell and couldn't take it any more? Could the boss point him to the door and tell him never to come to work again, that JetBlue demanded much higher standards from its staff?

Not unless said employer wanted to be sued for unjustified dismissal, hurt feelings, humiliation and millions of American dollars.

The reality is employers - in New Zealand and America - just have to suck it up, while employees can throw their rattles out of the cot, even if they steal the toys and hit the customers on the head.

Witness the grizzling taking place right here, right now over the extension of the 90-day trial period. One street-marching demonstrator complained to camera she could be sacked - for no reason at all. What's so wrong with that, when she could leave her job for no reason at all? Does she not believe in equality? Who creates the job in the first place?

I know we have some terrible bosses out there, and I totally support workers who campaign outside their premises if they're being ripped off. Such employers should be named and shamed, so their businesses suffer.

The trouble with the current system is most corporates take the easy way out because they don't have time or resources for tortuous Employment Court litigation. So they pay off bad workers, give them meaningless references, and disestablish the position.

And if, perchance, they do get sued, you won't see them marching in solidarity or sticking up for each other on Facebook - far too uncivilised.

If they want to end bullying from workers, they'll have to do more than exchange polite sympathies within the ivy-covered walls of the Northern Club, or over reflux-inducing lunches at the Wellington Club.

A "hard luck, old man", and pat on the shoulder among Roundtable members, or repeated submissions by the Business Council, isn't going to change the them-and-us culture of workers versus bosses.

Corporate chappies might splutter, but they should take lessons from my fellow columnist Matt McCarten in how to foment mischief. I look forward to the day a boss gets mad as hell and refuses to take it any more, then sues a worker for hurt feelings, unjustified absences, and lost income.