President of Engineers Union Slams Boeing's Plan to Fire Top-Notch Training Pilots
"Unwise" to outsource work to offshore tax haven amid a safety push for 737-MAX
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jamie Horwitz
202/549-4921, jhdcpr@starpower.net
WASHINGTON –The union representing engineers, pilots and other technical workers at Boeing sharply criticized the aircraft manufacturer today for its decision to fire the company’s U.S.-based training pilots and replace them with contract workers from Cambridge Communications Limited, a company located on the Isle of Man, a tax haven in the middle of the Irish Sea.
“Why on earth did Boeing decide to fire top-notch, experienced training pilots in the middle of the worst safety crisis in the company’s history?” asked Paul Shearon, president of the International Federation of Technical and Professional Engineers. “This is an unwise and unsafe move. Boeing should reverse course immediately.”
Boeing is laying off veteran Flight Training Airplane (FTA) pilots in favor of outsourced contractors just when the company is attempting to reintroduce the 737-Max. Two of these planes crashed in 2018 and 2019, claiming 346 lives.
“Is it really worth cutting corners to save a few dollars?” asked Shearon, who earlier in his career was an engineer employed by Boeing. “When will Boeing learn?”
“The U.S. House of Representatives has issued a scathing report about Boeing’s ‘culture of concealment’ and their failure to protect the public. This does not look one bit like the culture change this company needs,” he added, noting that Boeing issues official Boeing pilot uniforms and business cards to the contract pilots.
FTA pilots provide critical training and coordination between design, manufacturing, and flight teams at Boeing. “These longstanding relationships are essential to certifying new flight systems such as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), the module responsible for the two tragic 737-MAX accidents,” said Shearon. “But those relationships won’t exist with training pilots from Cambridge Communications Limited.”
“I was gobsmacked to hear company officials admit that Boeing will exercise zero quality control over these contractor pilots,” said Ray Goforth, executive director of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA)/IFTPE Local 201, representing Boeing workers. “The entire fate of The Boeing Company depends upon a smooth re-entry into service of the 737 MAX. I cannot believe Boeing chose this moment to fire their highly experienced training pilots and outsource their work to contractors they don’t even control.”
For more on Boeing’s decision to fire FTA pilots, please visit the SPEEA website here.