Among other things it charged that Robert Falla, one of the maintenance managers, has set a "pattern of behavior" where workers are "pressured, threatened, and intimidated" to put worn parts back on planes. Falla has since been put on paid leave.

This is a particularly sensitive question for Alaska Airlines bosses because of the death of 88 people aboard Alaska Flight 261, which experienced mechanical difficulties and plummeted into the ocean off the California coast.

In a move sure to target union members, the FBI, Department of Justice, and Department of Transportation are involved in a yearlong investigation of the company's maintenance practices at its Oakland, California, facility.

Alaska bosses interviewed the letter signers, which, according to one of the mechanics, was aimed at intimidating the workers. Present at the "interviews" were company lawyers, a representative of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a representative from the company's "Quality Assurance" program, and a representative of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which represents mechanics at the airline.

Falla, the maintenance manager, said through his attorney that he has "never knowingly allowed any aircraft to go into service that was not airworthy or failed any safety standard." While not releasing either the letter from mechanics or the contents of their interviews, the company claimed the interviews support Falla's position.

The company's response to the mechanics' letter on safety violations at the airline has not been to try to find out all the facts and correct these abuses. Instead, top management has tried to stop any of the mechanics from speaking out further. The March 29 Seattle Times had a front-page article titled, "Workers put heat on airline." The subtitle stated accurately: "Alaska's top executives meet with unions to quell criticism." The article said that two top company officers are "working with union leaders to try to head off further expressions of a lack of confidence in the company's management."

An Alaska pilot, a member of the Air Line Pilots Association, has proposed a resolution that asks the pilots to "condemn the leadership of maintenance operations" and give their support to the mechanics who sent the letter. Other pilots have called for replacing senior executives and condemning management practices.

After receiving the letter expressing the mechanics' safety concerns, John Kelly, from Alaska's top management, conceded that Alaska is viewed "with a question mark." The company has now created a team of safety auditors and a position of vice president of safety. Some mechanics said that these moves are simply part of more cover-ups.

Safety is also a big discussion at Horizon Airlines, a commuter airline owned by Alaska. John Kelly is known to have cut his teeth at this company where he organized to defeat unionization drives.

On February 11 pilot Richard Stewart refused to fly a Fokker F-28 because of safety concerns. The company assigned another pilot to the aircraft and suspended Stewart. Four days later another pilot grounded the same aircraft in Billings, Montana, because of vibrations. The engine was then replaced. Pilots have documented intermittent vibration problems with this plane 30 or more times since August.

On February 17, Horizon management demoted Stewart from his status as a "check airman," a designation the FAA and airline companies give top pilots.

George Bagley, the CEO of Horizon, maintained that Stewart, a union representative at the company, was under stress from struggling for two years to obtain a contract for the pilots at the company.

FAA spokesman Mitch Barker said regulators were aware of the vibration reports. An FAA inspector flew on the aircraft and reported, "It is not a safety problem. It is an annoyance," adding that despite some pilots' concerns, "we're the agency that oversees safety."

John Naubert is a member of International Association of Machinists Local 1103 in Seattle.  
 
 
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