Human Capital - Benchmarking - Essay Example

However, many of these benefits are dwindling within the United Airlines Company along with the number of satisfied employees. Talks of terminating the existing pension plans began in 2004. While the plan was highly supported by United Airlines administrators and investors, others were not quite as happy with the possibility. William Swelbar, president of Eclat Consulting in Arlington, VA, believes the investors would like to have seen the pension plans cut before they had to, as though they were letting someone else do their dirty work: “The question is, will employees be smart enough not to burn the furniture?

” (Allison, 2004a). These types of worries imply that the company understands and acknowledges the sinking morale that can come with such a decision, and is considering making that decision despite this knowledge. Causing further distress among the employees is the ongoing arguments surrounding these terminations of the pension plans. Since announcing the possibility that cutting these plans would be the only way out of bankruptcy for United Airlines, several other companies and financial groups have fought with United Airlines regarding the legality of such a decision.

The Labor Department, along with the union representing the airlines flight attendants, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, has filed objections to many of the events taking place among the administrators of United Airlines: some of these objections came about after United Airlines quietly removed three executives who were vocally against cutting the pension plans and named the airlines as the fiduciary. (Allison, 2004b). Although the airline has since named an independent fiduciary and made some payments into the pension plans, the amount of insecurity following such allegations is a cause of major unrest among the employees of United Airlines.