No Jobs, No Ride Home for Non-Union Mechanics

When Richard Bledsoe, an airplane mechanic in Dallas, was recruited last month to work for Eastern Airlines in Los Angeles, he knew that the job was likely to be a little touchy given Eastern’s boiling labor troubles. Nevertheless, he said, he thought it was a good deal.

However, Bledsoe and 20 other non-union mechanics recruited from around the country to service Eastern airliners at Los Angeles International Airport during a strike by the carrier’s machinists union, Tuesday found themselves out of work with no place to sleep, and most had no way to go home.

The strike began March 4, and Eastern has stopped making flights to and from Los Angeles, apparently meaning that there is no need for the non-union mechanics.

“I’m going to have to hitchhike,” said Bledsoe, explaining that neither Eastern nor the temporary employment agency that recruited him would help. He also said he has been paid for only two days of the three weeks he has been in Los Angeles.

Bledsoe and most of the other mechanics were recruited by Personnel Connections, a unit of Percell Group based in San Antonio. James Shelton, recruited to supervise the crew, said he has no written agreement from Personnel Connections but that the agency assured them they would have round-trip transportation.

“I feel responsible, as the supervisor. This is really awful,” said Shelton, who added that he was not certain how he would get back to his home in Seattle.

Joe Percell, president of Percell Group, said in a telephone interview from San Antonio that the agency had not promised the mechanics round-trip transportation. “The terms of employment were that it was one-way transportation only,” he said. Eastern is not responsible for the workers now, he said, adding, “They are our employees.” But he stressed that he feels “no obligation to get them back home.”

Franklin Services of Dallas, which recruited two members of the crew took a different stance. “‘When I talked to them, they said they were sorry the job went bad, but they would get us back home,” said Peter Smith, who was hired by Franklin in Montana.