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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