Labor's comeback. Labor's man on the board

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Duane Woerth, Director of Northwest Airlines, is different from most American corporate board directors. He's a labor leader, representing employees who own 30 percent of Northwest. What gave Duane Woerth a role in setting corporate policy was the airline's brush with bankruptcy in 1993. Woerth, a Northwest pilot for 15 years, joined with the leaders of other unions to offer the company $900 million in wage and work rule concessions-concessions that not only saved Northwest, but forced its corporate culture to change. Today, Northwest unions have three seats on the board, and influence decision-making from the boardroom to the shop floor. Collaboration between labor leaders such as Duane Woerth and CEO John Dasburg has helped to power Northwest's economic comeback, as the two sides work together to find new efficiencies and create skilled new union jobs.