Corporate Saint #1
AARON FUERSTEIN
For many years, Mr. FeuerststeinâÂÂs family has owned a clothing manufacturing business
in Methuen, Massachusetts. In 1995, the factory building burned down. He immediately
commenced to rebuild the factory and, in the interim, fully paid the workerâÂÂs salaries and
benefits, increasing the amount of his debt in order to do so.
Unfortunately not all fairy tales have a happy ending. Although the final script has
yet to be written on Mr. FeuersteinâÂÂs business, he did have to file bankruptcy. The
costs in rebuilding the factory and not being aggressive in marketing his products caused
him to get into financial trouble. He stated that he did not attribute his financial
problems to his employees. His company is now out of bankruptcy, but it is owned
by the creditors. Mr. Feuerstein is trying to raise capital in order to buy back the
company and he is optimistic about his chances of succeeding.
Compare Mr. FeuersteinâÂÂs attitude to the attitude of executives at Enron, Tyco,
Worldcom, Global Crossing and Adelphia Communications. While in real terms the
minimum wage has declined, the pay of corporate executives increased 571% between
1990 and 2000 (five times the rate at which corporate profits increasedâÂÂa fact that
should outrage shareholders). Had the minimum wage increased at a similar rate it would
now be over $25 per hour. Aaron Feuerstein is the antithesis of the CEOs who in the
name of the bottom line throw 40,000 workers out on the streetâÂÂand then take an
increase in their already obscene salaries. As of the mid 1990âÂÂs, American executives
were paid at a rate that is 140 times that of the average worker.
Corporate Saint #2
OJAI VALLEY INN & SPA
âÂÂFROM BELLHOPS TO BUILDERSâÂÂ
In May, 2003, a major 16-month renovation forced this luxury resort to shut-down two-
thirds of its rooms. This would have resulted in layoffs for half of its 600 employees.
Instead, the management decided to retrain willing workers as carpenters, painters,
electricians, tile setters and drywall installers, saving about 150 jobs. The training
program was performed mainly in-house, and all the trainees were state certified in safety
procedures. The hotel spent about $1-million in the retraining.
Some of the employees have been with the hotel 40 years; the average tenure is eight
years, which is unusually high for the hospitality industry. The resort felt that preserving
that experience and loyalty was important. They feel that there are lots of fine hotels
around, but guests come to them because of the employees. âÂÂEmployees are the most
important part of a hotel, because this really is a people businessâÂÂ.
Every employee was given a chance to take part. No one who wanted to learn the new
skills was turned away. âÂÂThis helps build on that mutual benefit contractâÂÂŚ and
was a solution to keep their best workers on the payroll without being a total financial
drain on the hotelâ said Alec Levenson, labor economist and a professor at USCâÂÂs Center
for Effective Organizations. Ojai is a small community with a population of 8,000 and the
hotel is the biggest employer and it would be hard for them to find other employment
locally.
The retrained workers are being used only for renovation work, such as plastering,
painting and tearing out old sinks. A contractor with his own crew is handling the new
construction. However, that doesnâÂÂt mean that the retrained workers feel like a lower
class of laborers. The esprit de corps is so high that they have designed T-shirts
proclaiming âÂÂBuilding a Better Shang-ri La.âÂÂ
The Los Angeles Time, December 22, 2003
Corporate Saint #3
TIMBERLAND
Jonathan Swartz, C.E.O. of Timberland, believes that in order to equip people to make a
difference in the world, we must insist that doing well and doing good are one and the
same. He serves on President BushâÂÂs taskforce on national service and has instituted a
program called the Path of Service at his company. Timberland employees are given 40
hours of paid leave each year to perform community serviceâÂÂpaint a house, tutor a
student, comfort the elderly. Since Mr. SwartzâÂÂs family controls the majority of his
companyâÂÂs stock (he represents its third generation to head the firm), it is easier for him
to be innovative than it may be for C.E.O.s that have to answer to boards of directors.
The Path of Service program came about because of Mr. SwartzâÂÂs personal experience.
In 1989 he provided 50 pairs of boots to a group called City Year, an urban Peace
Corps type of organization, located in Boston. The group invited him to a day of
community service and he was hooked. In addition, Mr. Swartz is also committed to the
concept of tithing and estimates that 10% of his income goes to charity.
Today, Timberland estimated that 5,200 employees have invested more than 170,000
hours in community service in 13 countries. In addition, the company works with
business partners and vendors to arrange regional service events.
Fortune Magazine consistently rates Timberland as one of the best companies in the
country to work for.
Corporate Saint #4
GREYSTON BAKERY
Greyston Bakery is a minority-owned bakery in Yonkers, New York, that has become a
leader in community development and a role model for other socially conscious
businesses.
The bakery actively recruits and hires employees who have had difficulties finding in the
employment in the past. Ex-convicts and drug addicts make up a substantial part of the
employee census.
The bakery is expanding but has committed to remain within southwest Yonkers, the
community where it was created and has grown, and where there is a high concentration
of hard-to-employ individuals.
The profits of the bakery support the Greyston Foundation which includes housing, child
care, health care, a computer learning center, and more.
The bakery empowers its employees by compensating them fairly for their efforts. While
for some employees this salary may not constitute the âÂÂliving wageâÂÂ, the bakery
encourages and supports employees who seek outside vocational training, academic
advancement, and professional non-bakery-related enrichment.
Corporate Saint #5
BEN & JERRYâÂÂS ICE CREAM
We all know about the fantastic ice cream products sold by Ben & JerryâÂÂs. However,
there is another part of their success story. The two native New YorkerâÂÂs, who moved up
to Vermont and started the company, had another mission besides the goals of making the
best ice cream and also creating a profitable company.
Their mission, which they continuously worked towards achieving, included operating
the company in a manner that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in
society by initiating innovative methods to improve the quality of life both nationally and
internationally. They realized that the gap between the rich and the poor is wider than at
anytime since the 1920âÂÂs. Another part of their mission was to provide economic
opportunities for those who have been denied them.
As the manufacturing of products creates waste, they worked towards minimizing their
negative effect on the environment. Since the growing of food is overly reliant on the use
of toxic chemicals and other methods that are unsustainable, they support sustainable and
safe methods of food production that reduce environmental degradation, maintain the
productivity of the land over time, and support the economic viability of farms and rural
communities.
Question:What do you think of the idea of Corporate Saints? Is being a Corporate Saint realistic? Is the organization that you are/were apart of operating like a Corporate Saint? Please mention any other organizations that you believe are Corporate Saints.
