Airport Employees May Not Be
Adequately Trained
CBS Broadcasting Inc. - July 12 2007
By CBS Staff

Airlines operating at Los Angeles International Airport tend to hire contractors that do not provide adequate job training for its employees, which pose a risk to workers and airline passengers, according to a report.

Along with inadequate training, the workers are paid low wages and have few incentives to stay for the long term, according to "Under the Radar," a 38-page report by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy.

The group found that airline contractor employees tend to earn less than $19,000 annually and live in low-income communities that surround the airport and in South Los Angeles, according to a survey of nearly 300 passenger service workers.

There are about 2,500 passenger service workers employed at LAX Airport.

About 80 percent of the security workers questioned said they were not trained how to spot fake identification cards.

About 75 percent said they were not trained on how to identify suspicious passenger behavior or dangerous items while conducting pre-boarding searches on airplanes.

Only 10 percent said they received formal training in terminal evacuation and emergency procedures.

About 75 percent of wheelchair attendants reported problems with broken or malfunctioning mobility devices. More than 60 percent said they did not receive formal training in how to lift disabled passengers.

Three airport employees who served disabled passengers filed a federal complaint on June 28, alleging that an airport contractor failed to provide federally mandated training to its workers.

The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation, alleges that Inglewood-based Aero Port Services failed to provide adequate training on how to operate electric and manual wheelchairs, and how to transfer passengers from wheelchairs.

The company is among seven contractors who employ passenger service workers at LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that operates LAX, has little oversight on the matter, even though the contractors provide vital security and passenger services at the airport, according to the study.