By John Hewitt Chairman Maintenance
September 15, 2011
Nobody in Tulsa could have anticipated the lasting impact the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had on the airline industry and many other aspects of our world. But in the years following those events the top management at American Airlines has made uninformed, knee-jerk decisions without fully considering the long-term viability of the company and its workers.
An unfortunate example of this is the 757 Heavy “C” check work that is right on the verge of being sent to outside vendors, thus negatively impacting American Airlines, the Tulsa community and its workers. In the past when American Airlines saw increased work coming, the company would have hired more workers and secured the space to do the work. We took pride in our company being self-sufficient. We were glad to have more work. If we didn’t have the manpower or space – we found it.
Things have changed. Now more than ever we have to jealously guard our work. If we let the 757 work go, what’s next? If we give an inch they will take a mile. Now the American Airlines solution is to look outside the company and outside Oklahoma to handle the additional workload. Some airlines are even servicing aircraft in foreign countries because wages are so much lower. What kind of message does that send to American travelers about our commitment to safety and security?
For a company that lives and dies by daily flight schedules, you would think they would schedule long- term labor needs more deliberately. But they just don’t seem to have the foresight or the common sense. I have more than 20 years experience in maintenance along with many, many other workers here at the base. We have common sense solutions.
Here’s the solution to the 757 Heavy “C” check work: Hire more workers and find additional space. The super hangar in Kansas City would have been perfect, but I understand that has been leased out to some other industry. There is also available space in Dallas. While we want the hiring to take place right here in Tulsa, we would rather American Airlines grow in that way rather than sending it to another company.
Make no mistake, outsourcing is the trend in the airline industry. We face an uphill battle. But we must battle and not give up until we win. This is our history. This is our livelihood. This is tomorrow’s work.