We MUST Act Professional
First of all, I want to thank all those who responded to last week’s blog The News Still Looks Bad for Maintenance. We had plenty of reader comments that contributed to the discussion on the recent BTS report on airline employment and what it means for airline mechanics.
Sadly, not all the comments were able to be posted. In fact, some of them were so crude and obscene, they would make George Carlin blush. The comments were childish and very un-professional.
I understand the fact that airline mechanics have had it bad the last several years. I have talked to many airline mechanics during my time here at AMT. In fact, I got a chance to talk to quite a few Northwest mechanics in the first days of the strike last year. As could be expected, none of them were happy about the situation. They had nothing good to say about Northwest management outsourcing their jobs and busting the union. But guess what? They communicated their displeasure in a professional way. That doesn’t mean they weren’t emotional about the whole situation. There was evidence of the resentment, anger, and distrust they felt. But they acted as professionals.
It is a shame that there are some out there that act childish with vulgarity and personal threats. This type of behavior does nothing to help our cause to be treated as professionals. If anything, the behavior adds to management’s list of reasons for not treating us as professionals. And airline managers have plenty of excuses for the job cuts and concessions we have been seeing. We don’t need to give them any more by un-professional behavior.
If we want to be treated as professionals, we must act as professionals.
Thanks for reading.
Joe Escobar
Aircraft Maintenance Professionalism
I wasn’t privy to any of the comments that Joe Escobar received, and I can’t directly comment on the lack of professionalism contained therein, but I think its safe to say that as a group we’ve all seen it before. Most often its Internet postings that make us cringe and silently wish that the writer had taken the few seconds to use a spell checker. While personal vendettas and attacks have to be curbed, readers should be cautious in pointing out grammatical and spelling errors. Its not unusual for the same mechanics and engineers that ‘forget more than you’ll ever know’ to be less than perfect linguists and spellers. Given the choice of a tech with excellent spelling skills or one that knows his/her stuff on the company airplanes, my choice is always the former.
Andy Hakes
Buffalo, New York
Being a Pro-Making Aviation Fun Again
My fellow technicians — if you are that unhappy either A-Try another carrer or B-Explore other opportunities in the aviation field. I have been in the aircraft maintenance business for 25 years. Yes there have been many a time where I wanted out. But when you look around and say to yourself what will you be happy doing, it comes back to aviation. I have myself been terminated from two airlines — once for refusing to release an aircraft, the other for making a mistake, finding the mistake, admitting the mistake to my boss, and getting terminated. Does this stop me? Nope. Always go with your gut feeling. I sleep very well and look myself in the mirror with a smile on my face.
Patrick Napolitano
Clovis/Ca
I, too have seen some of the childish behavior mentioned. It does none of us any good, in fact; it hurts those who don’t act that way by telling management we are truly just a bunch of uneducated grease monkeys.
I’ve know a lot of really good AMT’s who have left the field forever for greener pastures; most are doing quite well. Rather than complain about how bad things are (if they are that bad) maybe the discontented should move on. Or try a different segment of aviation? GA is dying for good, talented people right now. Maybe this is in your future?
Kirk S.
Waukegan, IL
Professionals - not at any price
It would be great if all of the A & Ps and licensed engineers held their ground and acted as professionals regarding standards. But, there are always the few (?) who will bend to management pressure - ‘ ——- it will be all right, just sign it off.’ You know the type.
I have been following a thread on the pPrune net - under the ‘Rumours and News’ heading there is a thread titled ‘CAA enquiry into BA engineer at Glasgow.’ This basically is a story about a licensed man who went on vacation and gave his stamp to an unqualified man to approve work and return aircraft to service. HOW can we expect management to take us seriously, or the travelling public for that matter when this behaviour goes on. Perhaps the man is competent to carry out the work, perhaps not.
I know this has been said many times before - but, we are our own worst enemies. We put the job first and then ask management for a reward and accept ‘We will look after you next time,’ and like a bunch of idiots we take it and the next time it is the same story and management knows and plays us for what we are ————. (Fill in blanks to suit).
A further degrading move on the European scene, our new wonder agency, EASA, is proposing to get rid of engineers’ (mechanics’) licences and have ‘Approved Persons’ to certify the release of aircraft to service. This sounds very much like pressure on the authority from the airlines (after all who is paying the agency its huge fees?) to reduce their overheads again. In other words, if the chief inspector, manager or whoever likes your face you will be in. Where is the quality and professionalism in this system. I imagine new contracts will be offered to qualified staff but with the appropriate reduction in salary. Again, it’s take it or leave it time. Unfortunately, the same your side of the water, there are those of us who have our family obligations and have to accept lesser terms than we have been used to. On the subject of outsourcing in Europe, on the surface the contract engineer receives a good pay cheque. It is above the regular employee rate. The advantage to the airline - they do not have to pay the social payments i.e, pension, medical, holidays, profit share, etc., and the man can be laid off at a minute’s notice. These people have a somewhat nomadic life and if they are not up to standard will be shown the door pretty quickly.
What is the solution? I haven’t got one, but for a start I would like to see all management only allowed into their function if they have some basic qualification/experience in aviation, after all we have got our A&P certificate as the beginning, after that we have to build up with type courses, etc., in order to progress. Why not managers? But I don’t expect anything of the like to happen.
James Adair
Ingber