Union Officials Say Confidentiality Has Been Breached In Come Cases

Mechanics at American Airlines say they are considering pulling out of the FAA ASAP program, which is designed to allow mechanics, pilots, and other airline workers to report possible safety violations without fear of reprisal. The Transportation Workers Union said in a letter that there have been 16 cases in which documents it says should have been confidential have been used to begin enforcement actions against employees and the airline.

The FAA says the 16 cases in question were rejected for inclusion under the ASAP program because they did not meet certain criteria. Spokesman Lynn Lunsford told The Dallas Morning News that "all of the parties to this agreement knew from the outset that certain things would not meet the criteria."

The program is designed to allow those who should know the airplanes best ... the pilots and mechanics ... to report safety issues that might otherwise go unnoticed without fear of losing their jobs. But in the letter, Robert Gless, the TWU system coordinator for American, said the FAA is treating the reports as an admission of mistakes rather than a lead for something that requires attention.

This is not the first time American's mechanics have threatened to leave the ASAP program. The mechanics and pilots walked away from the program for a short time in 2008 when they felt the FAA was using the reports against them. On the government side of things, The inspector general for the U.S. DOT said in a 2009 report that the program was unclear about what kinds of incidents should be accepted, and which should be declined.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.american.com, www.twu.org