October 2003 - International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Safety and Health
Airlines Reject Security Training for Crewmembers
Much-Needed Training Devalued by Airlines
By Nancy Garcia, International Representative
Flight attendants and flight deck crew don’t have an option when it comes to dealing with an
emergency situation onboard an aircraft, whether it be fighting a fire in the cabin, aborting a
takeoff, opening an emergency exit or operating a defibrillator to save a passenger having a
heart attack. Nor do they have the choice of opting out of emergency training, including
hands-on or simulator training.
The airlines, however, want flight attendants and pilots to be able to opt out of another
type of training that will protect passengers and their own safety—crew
security training.
They have
apparently
forgotten all
about September
11 and why they
just received $2.9
billion from the
federal
government for
security costs.
Airlines have been lobbying Congress to make crew security
training voluntary. They also want it to be unpaid and taken
on the crewmembers own time. They have apparently forgotten
all about September 11 and why they just received $2.9 billion
from the federal government for security costs. With pilots
locked behind the reinforced door and flight attendants left
alone in the cabin to respond to a threat, crews need training to
coordinate an appropriate response and flight attendants need
additional training to defend themselves and their passengers.
In mid-June, air carriers and the Air Transport Association
(a trade organization made up of about 30 airlines) were successful
in having an amendment attached to the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act in the House
that would weaken previously legislated security training
requirements. This amendment was not included in the companion
Senate Bill, therefore a Congressional Conference
Committee met in July to work out compromise language.
Unfortunately, the Conference Committee was unable to
work out a compromise. Democrats on the Committee thought
they would be negotiating a bipartisan report to reauthorize
aviation programs, but when they got to the conference meeting,
they found that Republicans purposely scheduled it at a time to prevent little or no debate
on a report that bore little resemblance to either the House or Senate bills on several important
provisions. The Democrats refused to sign the Conference Report, but it will, nonetheless,
go to the floors of both the Senate and the House for a vote.
The Conference Report guts the mandatory cabin crew security training requirements,
making the training voluntary—all at a time when U.S. intelligence agencies are warning of
plans by the al Qaeda terrorist network to hijack more U.S. planes. The conference report further
jeopardizes aviation safety by allowing the privatization of our air traffic control system. It
also grants foreign cargo carriers a special interest exemption to evade cabotage laws by
allowing point-to-point domestic service between Anchorage, Alaska and the lower 48 states.
The Airline Division and the IBT Government Affairs Department are working diligently to
defeat the Conference Report and to ensure that security training remains mandatory and that
it includes the program elements necessary to prepare all crewmembers to respond to any
level of threat on an aircraft. Their lives, and the lives of their passengers may depend on it.
We will not let the air carriers and our legislators forget 9/11 and the lives of our fellow airline
employees lost that day.
8 Teamsters Airline Journal November 2003