Angry French Workers "Detain" 4 Bosses at Caterpillar Plant

[FlamingMoe]

An AP story via FoxNews (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,511783,00.html) reports management at a French Caterpillar plant was "detained" by angry employees because of reports the machinery giant would be laying off 20,000 employees worldwide due to the economic slowdown. The article states a similar event had previously occurred at a Sony plant in France.

While I find the actions of the employees to be abhorrent, what I find absolutely ridiculous is the glossing over of their actions by the (apparently, according to the byline) French AP writer who said the bosses had been "seized" or "held" or "detained" or "prevented from leaving". The writer has bent over backward to avoid calling it what it really is: a kidnapping. Alternatively, the word "hostage" also seems applicable.

I wonder what gives.

edit: last night when I originally read the article it listed the author on the Fox page. It is not now listed, but the author was Thierry Boinet, ergo the French assumption.

edit #2: the bosses have now been released (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_FRANCE_CATERPILLAR?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT). However, the story again refuses to use the words "kidnap" or "hostage" in favor of repeating the nicer words used in the first article.

[quixotecoyote]

Kidnapping refers to the forcible relocation of a person against their will.

Hostage taking refers to taking captives in order to threaten them with harm in order to extract concessions from a third party.

What happened here is probably best described as "seized" or "held" or "detained" or "prevented from leaving."

[The_Animus]

What is Caterpillar's net income and how much do their CEO's and Exec's get in bonuses?

If it's anything like some instances in the US where they lay off 20,000 workers to keep their bonuses and purchase a new jet they should be lucky they weren't hanged.

[FlamingMoe]

Kidnapping is the illegal taking of custody of another. Dictionary.com lists it as a synonym of seize. American Heritage DIctionary defines it as "To seize and detain unlawfully and usually for ransom." Perhaps French law is quite a bit more lenient than American law when it comes to unlawful detention, but holding your boss against his will certainly should be illegal.

A hostage is someone who is held against their will pending fulfillment of demands. American Heritage Dictionary defines it as inter alia: "A person held by one party in a conflict as security that specified terms will be met by the opposing party."

Either term is accurate here.

[FlamingMoe]

What is Caterpillar's net income and how much do their CEO's and Exec's get in bonuses?
Irrelevant.

If it's anything like some instances in the US where they lay off 20,000 workers to keep their bonuses and purchase a new jet they should be lucky they weren't hanged.
Perhaps they are lucky they weren't murdered. Regardless, that doesn't change the fact that what the workers did was kidnapping and hostage taking according to traditional definitions. I am wholly unfamiliar with French law on this topic, however, so I cannot say they met the elements of the crime in their actions.

[The_Animus]

Irrelevant.

You're probably right. Though finding out whether or not they had good reason to do what they did is usually a good idea. After all morality is hardly black and white. Some actions which are reprehensible in one situation are acceptable in another. At least according to some schools of thought on the topic.

[Roboramma]

An AP story via FoxNews (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,511783,00.html) reports management at a French Caterpillar plant was "detained" by angry employees because of reports the machinery giant would be laying off 20,000 employees worldwide due to the economic slowdown. The article states a similar event had previously occurred at a Sony plant in France.

While I find the actions of the employees to be abhorrent, what I find absolutely ridiculous is the glossing over of their actions by the (apparently, according to the byline) French AP writer who said the bosses had been "seized" or "held" or "detained" or "prevented from leaving". The writer has bent over backward to avoid calling it what it really is: a kidnapping. Alternatively, the word "hostage" also seems applicable.


I don't really see the problem. Do you feel that the use of the word "detained" led you or others to make false conclusions about the facts?

[Seren_]

It is rather usual here. (At least when the rate of bankruptcy and foreclosure is high.)

François-Henri Pinault (billionnaire, owner of a french lux group) was blocked in his taxi for an hour yesterday (or the day before).

This is the third or fourth case in recent weeks. The others were at 3M, Sony and Continental IIRC.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKLV49580220090331

I have never heard of any prosecutions following these kind of events.

[TragicMonkey]

"Well, we were told that we have to close one of our plants in France, but we hadn't decided which one. But now we have! Thanks for making this decision easy for us."

[DC]

tja, some people dont like to have others decide about their future without negotiations.
so they took the boses and negotiatet with them.

Maybe Managers will finally realise that what they learned in school about Human *resources" is crap and that those resources are actually Humans and not just some resources :)

[dann]

While I find the actions of the employees to be abhorrent, what I find absolutely ridiculous is the glossing over of their actions by the (apparently, according to the byline) French AP writer who said the bosses had been "seized" or "held" or "detained" or "prevented from leaving". The writer has bent over backward to avoid calling it what it really is: a kidnapping. Alternatively, the word "hostage" also seems applicable.

Yes, it’s always important to use the correct word (http://www.gegenstandpunkt.com/english/workandwealth/0-introduction.html), so what do you call the practice of laying off people (http://www.ruthlesscriticism.com/poverty.htm) who have no other income, no other way of providing for themselves and their families? There must be a better word (http://www.ruthlesscriticism.com/unemployment.htm) for it, mustn’t there?

The best word (http://www.ruthlesscriticism.com/unions.htm) for the reaction (http://www.ruthlesscriticism.com/resistance.htm) of the workers in the case in question is probably an act of desperation (http://www.ruthlesscriticism.com/AEG.htm).

[Lonewulf]

Wow. A newspaper uses the word "detain".

100 years from now, as the world lies a smoldering ruin of its former glory, people will look back to this newspaper and say...

It was "detain". It was all the fault of "detain".

[ARubberChickenWithAPulley]

This type of thing was even worse in South Korea. At one point, a group from a labor union members (I believe it was either Hyundai or Kia) kidnapped and ate an executive's dog. It also isn't uncommon to see workers assault executives during public appearances and things like that.

And that was when the economy was good.

[DC]

Perhaps they are lucky they weren't murdered.

what do you think the grwoing cap between rich and poor will lead to?
love and harmony?

[dann]

Perhaps they are lucky they weren't murdered.

From the guy who didn't like the word (http://www.gegenstandpunkt.com/english/US-welfare-state.html) "detained"!