CLT Bag Room Conditions ..REALLY Unsafe?

[Art at ISP]

We have been hearing for a while about unsafe conditions in the CLT bag room, primarily due to their being shorthanded. Now we are hearing that conditions there tonight in particular are especially dangerous.

Apparently one belt is broken, and they are working with only one belt. They are having to pull bags and put them on the ground, meaning there is no room for carts, and creating a potential tripping hazard. To those who work there....is this as unsafe as it sounds? I have heard this from more than one person...what say you? I want to make sure everyone stays safe out there...

Thanks.

 

[SparrowHawk]

We have been hearing for a while about unsafe conditions in the CLT bag room, primarily due to their being shorthanded. Now we are hearing that conditions there tonight in particular are especially dangerous.

Apparently one belt is broken, and they are working with only one belt. They are having to pull bags and put them on the ground, meaning there is no room for carts, and creating a potential tripping hazard. To those who work there....is this as unsafe as it sounds? I have heard this from more than one person...what say you? I want to make sure everyone stays safe out there...

Thanks.

What say I? Don't be upset, don't worry, don't fret, just call OSHA to ensure standards are met.

To me, Jerry Glass threw done the gauntlet with the USAPA suit, now it's time to involve EVERY Government Agency known to man and encourage them to investigate. Where is the IAM in all of this? What do you pay dues for? OSHA should have been contacted within seconds of the belt failure.

 

[700UW]

Its not an OSHA violation, the city is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the bags.

This isnt the first time a belt has broken and it wont be the last, as long as they work safe and dont put themselves at risk, there is nothing OSHA or any union could do.

 

[SparrowHawk]

Its not an OSHA violation, the city is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the bags.

This isnt the first time a belt has broken and it wont be the last, as long as they work safe and dont put themselves at risk, there is nothing OSHA or any union could do.

Well somewhere there is an agency that can and it's high time someone finds out WHAT AGENCY IT IS.

Has anyone from the IAM contacted the media? Print and TV? I'f not why not. Time to have a film crew if possible. You guys have camera phones get the word out, Raise hell

 

[700UW]

If they contacted the Media, the employee is violating company policy and can be terminated, they are not allowed to take unauthorized video or pics, and the belt is in an AOA restricted area, if you let the TV crew in its a security breach.

There isnt an agency to report a broken belt too, the city has maintenance on duty 24/7 and they are responsible for the belt, not US Airways.

 

[Hope777]

Its not an OSHA violation, the city is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the bags.

This isnt the first time a belt has broken and it wont be the last, as long as they work safe and dont put themselves at risk, there is nothing OSHA or any union could do.

If there is a Safety Violation it surely is an OSHA violation. Neither you nor I work there so WE dont know what is going on.


My Station has recently changed policies due to a Safety issue that OSHA was not too happy with.

 

[ChockJockey]

Well somewhere there is an agency that can and it's high time someone finds out WHAT AGENCY IT IS.

Has anyone from the IAM contacted the media? Print and TV? I'f not why not. Time to have a film crew if possible. You guys have camera phones get the word out, Raise hell

This is exactly what we mean when we say you have no idea what you're talking about if you've never done the job. Some of these belt systems are running 18 hours a day or more every day. They jam and/or go down all the time, which is why there is on-site maintenance personnel to perform checks and repairs. This is not a news story. This is part of everyday life at an airline.

Before a rumor can even be corroborated or the details explained you've already found an executive to blame, feigned outrage, faulted the IAM, and invoked the powers of the government and media. Are you really on such a tightly-compressed reactionary spring or are you just trying to be subtly sarcastic?

Besides, I'd suggest against advocating to "involve EVERY Government Agency known to man", it might damage your libertarian cred...

 

[malikie]

Well somewhere there is an agency that can and it's high time someone finds out WHAT AGENCY IT IS.

Has anyone from the IAM contacted the media? Print and TV? I'f not why not. Time to have a film crew if possible. You guys have camera phones get the word out, Raise hell

This happens at all airlines in small airports or big hubs. Maintenance of these belts are handled by the local airport authority not the individual airlines.

Maybe it's about time for you to get a new hobby. Trying to make yourself more important than you actually are is not working out to well.

 

[700UW]

Well said CJ, I was thinking the same about him getting a government agency involved,lol!

 

[Harry Callahan]

This happens at all airlines in small airports or big hubs. Maintenance of these belts are handled by the local airport authority not the individual airlines.

That's correct. It's all about the working conditions AFTER the belt broke. Expect no less than 3 folks to phone OSHA Monday morning.

 

[SparrowHawk]

This is exactly what we mean when we say you have no idea what you're talking about if you've never done the job. Some of these belt systems are running 18 hours a day or more every day. They jam and/or go down all the time, which is why there is on-site maintenance personnel to perform checks and repairs. This is not a news story. This is part of everyday life at an airline.

Before a rumor can even be corroborated or the details explained you've already found an executive to blame, feigned outrage, faulted the IAM, and invoked the powers of the government and media. Are you really on such a tightly-compressed reactionary spring or are you just trying to be subtly sarcastic?

Besides, I'd suggest against advocating to "involve EVERY Government Agency known to man", it might damage your libertarian cred...

Well if they are there I use them. Not exactly pure Libertarian I agree. But you play the hand you're dealt. I for one have visited the ramp and had some extensive conversations with folks who work there. It's a thankless job, it's a hard job and anyone who says otherwise is full of shite.

This Management team and ones prior pre merger have had a habit of urinating all over the ramp and I don't like it. Nor even a little. I haven't blamed a single solitary soul. I said Get the word outside the company where men and women of goodwill can help. The Court of public opinion is one court Jerry Glass can't win in.

I'm also aware that bag belts break, the question is "for how Long" consider that by the time info like this gets to Art or I, it's been HOURS not minutes.

 

[700UW]

Call Jerry Orr, let him explain it to you.

And the public doesnt care, all they care about is a cheap ticket.

Where was the outcry when our pensions were taken, when our pay and benefits were slashed and a whole bunch of folks laid-off?

And you are one who was never a fan of unions, I didnt see the roaches trying to help us and as a matter of fact, your groups charter even had some anti-worker stuff in your mission statement.

 

[ChockJockey]

That's correct. It's all about the working conditions AFTER the belt broke. Expect no less than 3 folks to phone OSHA Monday morning.

Can you fill us in?

 

[signals]

Wow, belts are down at other airports, too? I would be shocked if escalators break down next 🙄

Yes it is an airport issue and nothing to do with airline maintenance.

 

[SparrowHawk]

Call Jerry Orr, let him explain it to you.

And the public doesnt care, all they care about is a cheap ticket.

Where was the outcry when our pensions were taken, when our pay and benefits were slashed and a whole bunch of folks laid-off?

And you are one who was never a fan of unions, I didnt see the roaches trying to help us and as a matter of fact, your groups charter even had some anti-worker stuff in your mission statement.

I need to respond diplomatically.

Not sure I can do so here beyond being somewhat cryptic. So here goes.

In order to maintain a dialog with Sr Management, we had to agree that any public statements regarding Organized Labor was verboten. Reluctantly we agreed to their terms in order to more effectively represent our constituency. If you remember you and I along with Pitbull had some knock down drag out interchanges here. Through it all we gained a grudging respect for each other.

I can not tell you the number of times I got calls from US regarding comments made here. I/we lost our conduit to Sr. Management after the Christmas Meltdown for supporting the DOT and IAM position regarding fault and publicly calling for Al Crellin's dismissal.

I personally have never wavering from my position that in order to have Customer Satisfaction you first have to have employee satisfaction. Union or not I don't care. After 10 years of this BS I'm tired of the average Joe/Jane taking it in the shorts from their employer. It's past time to fight back.