Disturbing Trend
Hi Greg,
I am an 11-year SWA employee currently working as a ramp agent in Dallas Love Field. I recently had the chance to read your “A DISTURBING TREND” article in the April issue of D.O.M., and yes its very disturbing! My initial thoughts upon hearing of the mechanic’s situation who discovered the cracks in the fuselage of an aircraft was that this has to be some kind of joke that the company would discipline him for finding a potentially dangerous safety hazard. If I’m assigned to go change tires and I happen to notice cracks on the fuselage of the aircraft, am I supposed to ignore it because that wasn’t my initial assignment?? What is the number one priority here, record profits by keeping these airplanes moving and flying at all cost or SAFETY?
This incident further shows the very upsetting and disturbing message SWA is sending which is PROFITS, PROFITS, PROFITS, over SAFTEY and people. Almost everyday on the ramp, we ramp agents feel threatened with discipline by the company. One example is the Cargo Bin Loading Sheet, which documents how much cargo is loaded on the aircraft and in what location. The company tells us they want 100% accuracy on these “Bin Slips” but we are constantly pressured by supervisors to turn the Bin Slip in early, even before we’re done counting the cargo, to keep the planes moving and not cause a delay. If the Bin slip is inaccurate it could compromise safety and if discovered inaccurate the employee could be disciplined. But what causes this potential inaccurate safety hazard? It’s the threatening pressure always put on agents by the company to hurry up and turn paperwork in even before accurately counting and loading all cargo. So once again I ask what is the number one priority here at SWA – record PROFITS or SAFETY?
Going back to maintenance issues, a ramp agent was recently terminated for an aircraft incident in which the agent came in contact with an aircraft and caused few scratches and a dent. The company’s reason for terminating this employee was “the agent did not follow company policies in reporting an aircraft incident to management and safety is the number one priority at SWA,” pretty much saying the agent tried to hide what he had done by not reporting it in a timely manner. First and foremost, an aircraft mechanic was on site and witnessed the incident firsthand, and the agent did not leave the scene right away. The agent witnessed the mechanic inspect the “damage” and then the agent proceeded to offload the cargo from the aircraft which could take 20-25 minutes. After the unloading of the aircraft, then and only then did the agent leave the scene, only to deliver the luggage to the customers. So the assumption that the agent intentionally tried to hide the incident and cover it up is absurd. So on the one hand you terminate an employee for not properly reporting a safety issue, and on the other you discipline a mechanic for finding a potential deadly safety hazard and reporting it to management. Talk about the definition of hypocrisy!
Name withheld