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GUESTS: Carolina Briones, Co-Director of Research with LAANE, and co-author of the report, “Under the Radar”

According to a new report by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, or LAANE airline contracting systems at LAX result in poor security and services. Co-authored by Carolina Briones and Aiha Nguyen, the study, “Under the Radar,” is based on interviews of nearly 300 LAX passenger service workers. Less than a quarter of workers surveyed in the study reported training for spotting fake IDs or conducting plane searches, terminal evacuation and emergency procedures. Workers surveyed also report a lack of adequate training to service disabled and elderly passengers. Public health is also being jeopardized as workers report a lack of time and personnel to properly clean cabins and change pillows and blankets. Passenger service workers themselves fail to earn a living wage with the majority making less than $19,000 a year with little to no long term incentives to stay. As a result LAANE has made several recommendations to improve accountability and service quality. “Under the Radar,” concludes that the Los Angeles World Airports, or LAWA, which runs LAX, should reform the existing low-bid contracting system by allowing for competitive processes among qualified contractors.

Download the entire report here:
http://www.laane.org/docs/research/Under_the_Radar_es.pdf