Hackman
Veteran
- Sep 30, 2003
- 3,997
- 898
Opus said:
Here Opus, these are a few of the NWA FA's reporting how great the scab maintenance progrom is working. Sounds to me like some of them are concerned for their saftey, and they should be.
Received: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 04
12 +0000I wanted to share an incident I had with a replacement worker and to let you know that you are not forgotten by the flight attendants. Upon routine walk around of the A/C by the F/O a hydraulic leak was found and logged in the maint. log book. After a delay the scab returned and stated that he had tightened the seals and that they were signing off for us to go. The F/O decided to do another walk around. Upon the second walk around he noticed that not only was the leak NOT fixed but that it was leaking worse than his initial report stated. He was quite angry as were the flight attendants- we refused the aircraft. I am outraged that this scab was going to let an aircraft leave with a hydraulics leak.
This incident was reported to the chief pilot, FAA and a ASR report was filed I also reported it to the inspector generals office for the DOT. I also sent a detailed copy of the incident to my senators and governor. I have downloaded your NASA report and will fill that out ASAP.
Stay strong guys we are pulling for you~ we are all in the same sinking ship. Damn the man!
Received: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 17
09 +0000Aft. Fwd. Facing Flight Attendant jumpseat INOP. This jumpseat, Flight Attendant position C, is a minimum crew position, minimum F/A crew A-319 is three. With only two jumpseats in the Aft. section of the aircraft an aisle passenger seat in the last row must be designated " For Flight Attendant Use Only."
Upon boarding the aircraft a noticed a "replacement worker" in the flight deck checking the logbooks. As I went about performing my pre-flight safety check, I noticed the aft. fwd. facing F/A jumpseat was wrapped in red tape. I went to the back of the aircraft to check to see if a passenger seat had been designated for Flight Attendant use. No seat had been placarded. I went forward to speak to the "replacement worker". The man spoke broken english, his first language being spanish. I tried to explain the situation to him, however it was difficult due to his limited understanding of the english language. The man told me that mechanics don't put placards on seats to designate them for Flight Attendant use only, he said that it was the Flight Attendant's responsibility. I told him that it was standard operating procedure with Northwest Airline Mechanics and that he'd better check the MEL book. He brought out the book and showed me MEL Item # 25-22-01B, which was! the item listed in the cabin logbook. The description of this item did not mention minimum crew positions. I told him that there must be another section and I tried to turn the page. He put his hand on the book and stopped me from turning the page, saying, "oh no, this only thing." I told him to call a supervisor. Just then the First Officer boarded the aircraft and I told him that as soon as he was settled in the flight deck that I needed to talk to him. I explained the situation and the F/O agreed. Shortly thereafter a supervisor came to the aircraft along with the original "mechanic", the first officer pointed out the correct MEL Item # 25-22-01A and explained that a passenger seat had to be placarded with specific terminology "FOR FLIGHT ATTENDANT USE ONLY". The original mechanic was sent back to placard the seat, while his supervisor corrected the entry in the logbook to reflect the proper MEL item number. His first attempt with placard number 040749 said, "Exlusive Only Use Flight Attendant." (notice the spelling "Ex-Lusive"). In addition the placard was loosely stuck to the headrest o! f the seat. I informed the F/O that the placard was wrong and that it was already falling off. I had to call the "replacement worker" back just as he was leaving the jet-bridge. The F/O again told him that the placard had to have the specific terminology stated in the MEL book. As he was going to the back of the aircraft to change the placard we asked him, "Do you want us to hold boarding." to which he respond, "Any-tyne." Obviously, he did not understand the question. After he was done I went back to check the placard, this time it said, "Use Only Flight Attendant." I went forward to report this to the F/O. By this time the original "replacement worker" had left so our F/O had to radio for another "mechanic". A third "replacement worker" showed up this time and the correct terminology was used , but the placard was again stuck to the headrest and was peeling off. I asked the "mechanic" to use tape so that the placard would not fall off, but I was ignored. The logbbook page number listed on the placard was 9790007. The incorrect write-up was done on Oct. 2, 2005 and was not corrected until the afternoon of Oct. 3,
2005. This was a fairly simple write-up, but a delay was caused by incompetence. It is a sad day when Flight Attendants have to instruct "mechanics" in proper MEL procedures.
Additionally, Flight Attendants have had to show these "replacement workers" how to open cabin access panels, such as the clear panel in the galley ceiling of the Airbus. I had one "replacement worker" board a 757 and ask me what kind of A/C it was. He entered the plane at door 2L, however when he came out of the flight deck and saw that 1L was closed he began to panic thinking that we were pushing with him onboard. I had to point him to the door through which he had entered .
Received: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 22
56 +0000Hello Friends,
I am more sorry than I can say that you are still on the picket lines. I will continue to picket whenever I'm off duty, I did so enjoy the time we spent at ***** ***** house on Tuesday. The incidents of mechanical delays and f***-ups are enumerable. I agree with the earlier FA's that I am in fear for my life on a daily basis and truly wish that we had walked with you.
Just to tell a few 1.)First week of strike: engine temp. gauge showing overheating--several hours of "troubleshooting" with a huge group gathered around plane finally led to a manager coming and MEL-ing it after they wired something closed. He had to help them do the paperwork and he said that everything was going down the tubes. He was fed up then; I can't imagine
that he's still at the airline. 2.) Had a plane in LAX that had not had its regular inspection (I'm not sure what it's called) and the pilot refused to go anywhere until that was done. Pilot commented that this had been happening frequently lately. 3.) Toilets are being over-filled and it is going all over the aircraft on takeoff and landing. As you can imagine, this causes the plane to be taken out of commission. The scab cleaners run around trying to find outlets for the wet-dry vac and it's pitiful. 4.) Pilot told me on 10/2/05 that he just did a Maui trip out of Seattle and the mechanic told him that they were 5 days behind on paperwork. Another pilot on the same flight said that the company was threatening the pilots with private investigators and warning them about any comments about maintenance.
There are so many instances of bizarre behavior and incompetence with the scabs that it's impossible to remember them all. It happens almost every day. It seems to me that they just MEL everything they can and then try to catch up on the big stuff at the hangar. I think the only thing that saves them is all the extra planes. I have not seen a scab fix anything, except a light bulb or something like that. They don't even do simple things right---you should have seen the lav the other day--he sealed the entire door with tape and then taped across the front. You would think it was a crime scene. In addition, he could hardly speak English. I love people of the world, but I do think that they should be able to understand our logbook write-ups and directions. The managers are the only ones that seem to be able to actually accomplish anything and if you don't have one, then it takes FOREVER.
In regards to the pilots denying us the logbook--this hasn't happened to me in a couple of weeks. Besides, it doesn't work with me anyway. It is the "FLIGHT ATTENDANT MAINTENANCE LOGBOOK" and is therefore my responsibility to the FAA and that is what I say. It's a rare pilot who will face you down on that one.
Good luck to you all, I hope to see you all back to work very soon.
Received: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 17:35:38 +0000
The Stress is unbelievable! I too want to retire or quit- unfortunately that is not an option with only one paycheck coming in. The only reason I'm still working is for the insurance. I pray and suggest that for each and every family that has their eggs in one basket.. Move them to another pan before they get burned.
Stay Strong, support each other, and NEVER go to bed feeling regret for what your fighting for. My only regret is that our union did not have the strength that you all did.
Received: Wed, 5 Oct 2005 12:22:01 -0500
"I pray... I pray a lot. It is very scary out there, but nothing surprises me. I have seen where it took SIX scabs to replace a coffee maker and I don't remember ever seeing that in almost 20 yrs. It's hard when you leave for work and your 9 yr. old daughter says BE SAFE MOMMY."
I hope some of that sounds familiar to you as I reported this to Fox 9 news on Sunday. I only wish they would have put EVERYTHING I said on the air, however that would have been a 1 hour segment! I was asked what would make me feel safe on the job now.......that was a simple uneducated answer. "Northwest (the scum that they are) need to bring back our skilled mechanics. The people that took pride in their job and I felt SAFE." I support you guys 100% and I will continue to have my eyes and ears open to report such things to the media. "People can not just turn their heads anymore."
Received: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 02:18:17 +0000
I just wanted to say farewell and good luck with your fight against the rotten corporate machine that's crushing our once great company. I chose to take early retirement (after 18 years of airborne insanity - yes, I'm now a flight attendant with clipped wings :~) rather than cross your picket line. The thought of flying around in winged tubes being serviced by scabs - who, by the way, don't get to experience the creepy thrill ride at 35,000 feet as the ultimate test of their maintenance "skills" - makes my skin crawl to the point where I don't even want to ever use my well deserved pass-ride retirement benefits. How ironic.
You are the best of the best. Don't sell your souls to the corporate Devil Dogs, who are setting the bar so low, it's almost comical. Hold your ground, and please know there are those of us who have the utmost respect and admiration for your agenda.
And by the way, I was VERY happy to hear you've hired someone to nip at the heels of Steenland and cronies. Let's hope he can expose the financial shell games they've been playing at the employees' expense. Can you spell J-A-I-L T-I-M-E? A girl can dream, can't she?!!
Received: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 09
51 -0500I am an NWA Flight Attendant. A couple of weeks ago I was scheduled to work a flight to Amsterdam. We were delayed almost three hours due to an electrical problem. While we waited on board for the problem to be fixed, we watched at least six scab mechanics and a couple of
managers in the back of the aircraft with a ceiling panel open. One had a book open the others were standing around scratching their heads. it was quite alarming to see this many mechanics on board. The problem must have been quite serious.
Three hours later the log book was signed off and away we went to Amsterdam. Well we got up into the air and the reading lights started blinking on and off throughout the whole aircraft. This was a night flight. The passengers were freaking out. They had been notified in the gate area of the electrical problem. One man was so irate he demanded the the captain land the plane. So what did the captain do? Sent the Second Officer back. He was out of the cockpit for over an hour ( I timed it). He was in the back of the aircraft near the galley with a ceiling panel open resetting circuit breakers. In a post 9/11 environment a pilot should ONLY be leaving the cockpit to use the lavatory, not to do double duty as a mechanic. It was extremely disturbing not only to the crew, but to the passengers.
The Second Officer finally pulled enough circuit breakers for the reading lights to remain either in an on or off position and they stayed that way for the remainder of the flight. Some passengers whose lights remained in the on position for eight hours were extremely upset, because they wanted to sleep. The crew was amazed that the Captain continued on to Amsterdam. Just the perception that the problem really hadn't been fixed really looked bad.
This is one of MANY stories that I have witnessed since the mechanics went on strike. Northwest has done an amazing job putting spin the
their side of the story. The real truth is not getting out there! I go to work with a tremendous amount of anxiety that was not there
before the strike started. WE WANT OUR EXPERIENCED MECHANICS BACK TO WORK! What is it going to take a catastrophe? I am afraid so!
Received: Sun, 2 Oct 2005 19:35:25 -0600
as usual the new tactic to discourage write-ups involves the pilot group. (Shame on You) I have been on several flights now where we had
write-ups and the pilots would not give us the maintenance book until after we landed, thus we would be writing up maintenance issues while passengers were deplaning or at the end of the day while they would jump out of the cockpit and sail home. New antics to try and dissuade fa's..
Needless to say it is frustrating and is being reported (at least by me) to the whistleblower program. There is no reason to delay these write-ups and continue to be intimidated!
The work environment is absolutely poisonous, NWA is making a huge mistake by harassing and intimidating their employees and it will be THEIR down fall.
I am outta here!
Good luck to all!
Received: Sat, 1 Oct 2005 23
51 EDT....wrote up two aft flashlights that had been used. The scab had to ask us, the flight attendants, "Do I need to replace the whole flashlight or just the plastic strap?" This is not the only instance I've heard of scabs asking f/a input on what to do. This, however, was my firsthand experience. Doesn't inspire confidence. By the way.. I voted "YES!" to support the strike. Take care.. I'm out of here on the 31st !
Received: Sat, 01 Oct 2005 17
07 +0000I was hit in the chest as I tried to exit the galley. I have taken this all the way to the top with NWA and am waiting for their response...the scab was Larry Anderson based in MEM...Am fed up with the thugs NWA has hired...if I do not get a response that Larry Anderson has been fired....or better yet...I will go national with this. Detroit free Press...or the MSP paper....I am committed to this....how dare a scab strike me!
Received: Sun, 25 Sep 2005 23:58:12 EDT
Trust me things are not as rosy as Northwest acts.
My first trip back after your strike was a 5 day. We were late 100% of the time. And I have had a major delay on every trip since then. There is no such thing as a small mechanical now. Any flight deck write up I have been onboard for takes 3-4 hours to fix. Also, the mechanics inexperience is costing Northwest money. For example, our pilots wrote up a radio component that needed to be replaced. The pilot informed us it would take no more than 15 minutes to replace the part (it was sitting in the jetway). The "mechanics" forgot to turn off the power before beginning work and fried an entire system on the plane. Our 15 minute fix lasted 4 hours. A management mechanic was finally sent to work on the plane. On another day the pilots wrote up a CIDS caution light on the f/a panel on an A320. I have seen you guys resolve the same problem in about 10 minutes. Now it seems to take 3 "mechanics" for every write up. One to read the manual, one to look at the problem and one to speak to maintenance control over the radio for instructions on how to fix the problem. This write up was no exception. They ran the diagnostic and trouble shooted for over an hour. Finally, a manager mechanic arrived and resolved the problem in about 10 minutes. My last trip my entire crew was pulled to recrew a plane with a mechanical. The other crew had gone illegal. After we recrewed it the delay was over 5 hours. They never did fix the problem so we were given another plane. We arrived at our destination at 3 am local time.
Hang in there. We haven't forgotten you guys!!
OH YEA dont forget to buy a bus ticket so you can run home with your tail between your legs back to texA$$ 
