http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.3479/pub_detail.asp
Family Security Matters, 13 Jun 2009, Byron Harris &
Mark Smith - WFAA-TV
Shocking: No English? No
Citizenship? ‘No Problem’ for Aircraft
Mechanics
Fixing an aircraft is not like fixing a Chevy. Aircraft mechanics
don’t do their job with guesses, but instead do them with a repair
manual open in front of them, mapping every step.
Manuals are written in English, the worldwide language of
aviation.
News 8 has uncovered a pipeline
of mechanics that are being funneled into the United States from
foreign countries and may lack the necessary English skills to read
and understand the manuals needed to make proper
repairs.
Documents and interviews indicate one Texas repair firm, San
Antonio Aerospace (SAA), now has more than 100 Mexican and Asian
aircraft mechanics. SAA’s sprawling repair station in San Antonio
is currently running two shifts a day doing contract work for both
Delta Airlines and UPS, among others.
Some SAA repairmen say the Mexican workers lack the ability to even
understand the content of company meetings, much less read manuals.
Nonetheless, they say, SAA sent a manager to Mexico to actively
recruit repairmen.
One certified American mechanic who spoke Spanish said he acted as
an informal translator to help the Mexican workers once they
arrived in San Antonio.
"I would be like the Pied Piper to them," he said. “They would
follow me and ask what the meeting was about, 'What did the lead
mechanic say?'”
Later, after watching a group of
Asians arrive at SAA, he said he realized the folly in helping the
new hires with language problems after overhearing a conversation
between two of his managers.
“All these American contractors that think we can’t live without
them,” he said one of the managers said to the other. "We will just
get rid of them.”
Ultimately, he and many other American
mechanics at SAA were laid off while the foreign workers
remained.
"They came in at half the pay as American, English-speaking
mechanics, so they got a bargain,” the mechanic said. “Of course,
the downfall is when you can't read, write or understand English
there is a serious safety problem going on there."
SAA president Moh Loong Loh said
in a written statement that his company is "an equal opportunity
employer, and our hiring policy is in strict compliance with local,
state and federal regulations."
Other questions regarding SAA’s recruiting practices include the
number of foreign mechanics employed and potential safety issues
that went unanswered.
San Antonio Aerospace is
owned by ST Aerospace, headquartered in Singapore.
It is one of the largest aircraft repair companies in the
world.
Delta Airlines sends Boeing 757 passenger aircrafts to SAA for
repair. Delta says the company has inspectors on the premises in
San Antonio who “are responsible for ensuring that all
manufacturer, federal aviation and Delta requirements are met on
every Delta aircraft."
"Delta does not compromise on the quality or safety of work
performed on its aircraft," the company said.
UPS sends wide-bodied Airbus and McDonnell Douglas cargo planes to
SAA for extensive repairs. UPS said in a written statement that the
company has 13 full time staff people on the premises at San
Antonio Aerospace.
"We do not know if every mechanic speaks English,” a UPS
spokeswoman said. “Once a mechanic makes the repair(s), the repairs
go to a quality control inspector who has to verify the work is
done correctly. After this step, one of our UPS team will also
review the work."
Immigration documents list at least some of the Mexican mechanics
as “scientific technicians.”
“Frankly, this document scares me because it doesn't state these
people are trained, and actually uses a term calling them
'scientific technicians,” said John Goglia, a certified mechanic
and former member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
“That's not an aviation term.”
Goglia said he is especially concerned if the mechanics lack solid
English skills.
“When you bring in a person who can’t read the manual you raise the
risk,” Gogila said. “When you bring in a person who doesn’t
understand the verbal instructions from a co-worker to his
supervisor you raise the risk. It doesn’t take a lot of tic marks
in raising the risk before we have ourselves a serious
problem.”
Documents indicate the men are paid by a company called Aircraft
Workers Worldwide, with an office in Daphne, Alabama. AWW CEO
Daniel Hardin declined to be interviewed. When News 8 came to his
small office in an industrial park, an AWW employee told the
reporter to leave.
In a federal immigration application, AWW applied for a TN Visa
under the Free Trade agreement between the U.S. and Mexico. AWW
says it has a gross annual income of $9 million. AWW says it
intends to pay the workers a $1,000 weekly salary for about 40 to
50 hours. AWW, in the application, also claims to have “a site” or
office on SAA property.
American mechanics from Mobile Aerospace, a sister company of SAA,
in Mobile, Alabama near Daphne, said other mechanics were brought
in from overseas to work there. The Mobile division responded to
News 8's questions the same way as SAA, calling the company “an
equal opportunity employer.”
Current and former workers say some of the foreign workers may have
left SAA for jobs elsewhere, including Florida.
"And since there are no restrictions with them with these visas,
they can go and work anywhere in the country,” Goglia said.
Goglia said the issue should be reviewed by the Federal Aviation
Administration, which regulates such repairs.
“The FAA is the entity that is supposed to safeguard the public's
interest in safe transportation,” Goglia said. ”And, where are
they?”
The FAA, in a comment about a previous News 8 story, said it is not
necessary for an aircraft mechanic to speak perfect English.
----------------
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