[AnnArmstrong]

Need your help, This should not happen in America
This week the temp in Minnesota will fall below -15 to -25 Imagine running out to your car after a afternoon of shopping. You race outside cursing the cold as you fumble to grab your keys. 
Now imagine waking up in your car its -25 degrees outside. The car does little to protect against the temp. 

Your body finds it hard to avoid shivering. As you fumble for your keys to warm up your car. It does not matter how many blankets you have it’s still hard to feel your toes. It takes 15 min to scrape the inside of the car then you have to do it outside the car just to see. Sounds Sad right? 

Well that is the life of Greg Staffa. He lost his house in Foreclosure because his former employer Northwest Airlines abused the Work Comp laws.

Back in 2006 Greg was working, performing his job when he got hurt. For a while it was a work comp issue but then suddenly they sent him to a new Dr they had found. This Dr decided it was cause Greg was overweight. Greg is let go that day. Greg gets a work comp lawyer. Greg finally gets his day in court vs NWA. The judge ruled that NWA blaming him being fat for his injury was based on NO medical evidance. She goes on to say there was NO logic or Common Sense used in saying his fatness had anything to do with his injury. Greg Wins.

But NWA cuts his pay by about $1000 a month and removes him of all 7 years of seniority.

Making $1000 a month less and now disabled the rest of his life, contacts his bank of 34 years who has his mortgage asking to please work something out. They basically say “pay or lose your home.”

Shortly after his Court victory Greg gets laid off again due the the merger. Turns out he is laid off because he had lost his seniority after his injury. Had he not lost his seniority he would still be at NWA/Delta.

A new VP guy gets hired at TruStone Financial, Mr. Williamson Jeff.Williamson@trustonefinancial.org he is willing to work something out if at the time Greg could find a job within 2 months. At the time unemployment was at 8% now it’s at 10%. The media picks up the story and emails start flooding in to his bank. But instead of addressing it Stephen Bohlig orders it to be ignored and like a coward basically hides under his desk hoping it goes away.

So Greg gets Foreclosed the Week before Christmas, 2 weeks before his Birthday (Jan 4th) . This all happened NOT because of his injury but because NWA called Greg Fat. Getting hurt at work should NEVER mean you lose seniority or have to take a $1000 a month pay cut. THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN IN AMERICA!!!

You can read his story here. http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle...oDEy3LGDiO7aiU

I am trying to start a viral campaign. Forward this onto your friends. I am asking people to write the following email addresses. Feel free to cut and paste each letter or write your own.

Jeff.Williamson@trustonefinancial.org VP lending
Stephen@bohlig.com On the board

I am writing on behalf of Greg Staffa. Your lack of compassion in throwing Mr Staffa out on the street right before christmas is the reason banks are looked down on. In this market who wins when a bank forecloses when you have someone asking to try to work out some agreement. I think the right thing for you to do is step down.

Thank you.


perry.cantarutti@delta.com Former NWA now Delta VP

Mr Cantarutti

I am writing on behalf of Greg Staffa. To treat him as you did and thus costing him his home is unforgivable. When a judge ruled in his favor his pay and seniority should have been returned. We are asking for a job to be created with his seniority intact and back pay. Failure to do so will lead to a boycott of Delta Airlines.

Thank you.



Please take a minute to cut and paste the 2 letters and leave a comment here. It was -15 below last night. It was also Gregs Birthday

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

Greg's weight may not be the fault of his situation, but the way he votes (or doesn't!) could well be. If one doesn't vote; votes Republican, or votes for a candidate who is paid-off (in this case, by the airlines) then I have little sympathy for them when things turn to s**t.

[jimworcs]

I was ready to go off on one about the evil Delta/NWA... and make no mistake, the way they treated his workers comp sounds outrageous. However, there is a bit of "snag" with the story... Greg wasn't laid off! He was reassigned to a customer service role, as he was no longer able to lift due to his injury and he was previously a baggage handler. He then took volunteered to leave and took a pay off. It is a slightly different story when you know that...

[The_Judge]

Does this post even belong here? I mean, now that the precedent is set, can I spew all about my past grievances and complaints I have against NWA for the last 20 years??

[Leatherboy2006]

Sorry but just another bad side effect of american's increasing weight and the effect it has on the everyone and the further need for America to shape up.

[jimworcs]

Judge,
I thought you had processed all your anger was now a "new man"!

Leatherboy,
If everyone who is fat and gets laid off in America ends up on skid row, you are going to have a whole lotta problems over there!

[Leatherboy2006]

the other thing about the OP that was bothering me and I got to talk about it today on the treadmill with a friend who works for Southwest. If this guy was moved from ramp to being an agent, it would only be FAIR that he loses his seniority, since he is moving to another work group who may have another contract and work rules. Would it be fair to the employees who have been agents to have this guy be moved up with his seniority from another work group (possible different union and contract) and suddenly be senior to them and then in a layoff they get laid off and he gets to stay?
Personally if that happened and I was the one laid off cause he came with his seniority I would be seeking a lawsuit against the company and him.
Personally I think its time he takes responsibility for himself, lose weight and get into shape. If he doesn't think he can do it, he should check out the Biggest Loser website there are plenty of people on there in worse physical shape then he is in who have done it and have been successful. Heck may he can get on the show and they can not only help him but save his life by making him healthier.
It just takes determination and will power.

[Leatherboy2006]

Leatherboy,
If everyone who is fat and gets laid off in America ends up on skid row, you are going to have a whole lotta problems over there![/quote]

Your right Jim, I actually have trouble finding jeans and pants here in the states cause I wear between a 31-32 waist and more and more stores are carrying 34 and larger.

[The_Judge]

Jim, anger towards passengers has been detoured and combined with the already existing anger I had towards my former employer and all their kind.

LB, pretty much the whole time I worked for NWA, there was talk of portability (one seniority) It never came to be. It appears it's still not there. One obviously retains his/her seniority as far as hire date but if an employee would switch work groups, as in the case presented, seniority is not transferred. So, the OP is painting a bit of a clouded picture trying to garner support. It's wrong what happened but the layoff was not directly due to the injury.

[AnnArmstrong]

The layoff was due to the injury. NWA did not offer the customer service job. He stayed with the same union. the entire time. He had to do that because if you read the accommodations program that NWA has (which he posts on his site) it was not followed. Every turn NWA changed not only the game but the rules on him. He was a mouse looking for cheese and after every turn NWA changed the maze.

Its not a issue about weight. Its not a issue about seniority. HAD NWA followed not only work comp guidelines but it's own guidelines involving OJI NONE of this would have happened.

[jimworcs]

That is not what the articles you linked us to say... so the details are all a bit murky.

[The_Judge]

Same union but it has different books (branches). He was on the ramp, which was the black book. He went to customer service, which is the gray book. Completely different work group with a completely different contract. When you transfer from one group to another, you only retain your hire date for the purpose of bidding vacation. The transferring employee will now begin a NEW seniority date in his new classification.

I am a 20+ year employee of NWA and am well aware of how it works as I was also screwed (my own doing though) by transferring work groups. I lost almost a decade of seniority by doing it.

[AnnArmstrong]

The Judge on here pointed out part of the problem. He should never have gone from black to Gray. Greg posted the NWA accommodations policy on his site and there is not 1 but several steps that NWA avoided, refused to take or ignored putting him in the position he found himself in.

[jimworcs]

Let's be clear. If someone is injured on the job and has to change jobs within the company to accommodate their disability, it is morally wrong and ridiculous to lose seniority. However, I am not sure if this is a company requirement or one negotiated by the union. Can someone clarify?

However, you don't answer this basic point. Did he take voluntary redundancy or what he "laid off" against his will by the company. The article you linked us to suggested he voluntary took a pay off from the company. Surely, given the economic times, that was ill advised? He has been homeless before and finds himself in the same situation again. If the company laid him off (against his will), I have every sympathy for his situation. If however, he was unhappy with his situation and decided to accept a pay off, then surely he is in part the author of his own misfortune?