Unfortunately, going to work isn’t always a pleasant experience. Companies across all industries run into their share of tension, though the caliber and impact varies. This Weekly Wrap explores how “business as usual” might be perceived by a company’s public audience.
Technology moguls, Microsoft and Google, mutually agreed this week to drop all pending patent lawsuits against each other. Patents under scrutiny included technologies such as mobile phones, wireless networking, video decoding and even the Motorola Mobility, a smartphone maker Google sold to Lenovo last year. Before this agreement, lawsuits reached a total of about 20, filed in both Germany and the United States. Moving forward, both companies said in a joint statement that they expected to “collaborate on certain patent matters and anticipate working together in other areas in the future to benefit our customers.”
Closer to Pittsburgh, Alpha Natural Resources (the large, U.S.-based coal producer) will close a Green County mine, located just southwest of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. The mine is owned by Emerald Coal Resources, a subsidiary of Alpha. As stated in a notice to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry filed on September 25, Alpha will lay off all of their employees working there, 316 in total, as a result of the closure. This termination, however, did not come as a surprise. Alpha made an announcement in August 2014 stating the mine would close late the next year. They even suggested the employees look for work at its neighboring mine, about five miles southeast of Waynesburg. This offer was not repeated in the September 25th notice.
In a third conflict, the United Auto Workers (UAW) rejected a contract proposal from employer Fiat Chrysler (FCA), despite the deal being praised by union leaders. When the deal was first announced, UAW President Dennis Williams and FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne seemed mutually pleased with the deal. CBS reported “the deal met the union’s goals but still keeps Fiat Chrysler competitive with other automakers.” UAW workers at many of the larger factories voted against the deal (no definitive totals will be released until later this week). As an example, 65% of the 2,980 workers at the Belvidere, Illinois plant voted against the deal. While UAW members voiced agreement with aspects like pay raises and a signing bonus for new employees, they were disappointed at the absence of a path to higher wages for entry-level positions, as well as measures against the threat of shifting production to low-wage factories in Mexico.
Whether a company is navigating a lawsuit, closing a branch or negotiating union deals, they are in a fishbowl, with their entire audience looking in. What could these companies do to make sure they are being seen in the best light? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Brian Mulligan is an Intern at WordWrite Communications. He can be reached at brian.mulligan@wordwritepr.com or on Twitter, @brian_mulligan1
