Newsstand - Too many workers have plane access, Southwest's flight attendants say

Airport security ripped
Too many workers have plane access, Southwest's flight attendants say
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/04/04/MN208827.DTL

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Southwest Airlines passengers may be free to move about the country, but slack security is still allowing airport workers access to airplanes and runways, say flight attendants for the airline.

The union representing 7,000 Southwest flight attendants has filed a grievance against the Dallas-based airline, saying the carrier is creating unsafe working areas and conditions by failing to require ground workers to pass through security checkpoints.</font>

Security grievance by flight attendants
Ground workers' access at heart of dispute
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/04/05/BA220409.DTL

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">In pushing for better screening of ground workers, including baggage handlers, food-service employees and ramp agents, flight attendants point to the harrowing crash of a Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 in 1987.

In that case, a former USAir employee who was recently fired used his credentials to take a .44-caliber pistol on board the plane. He shot the pilots shortly after takeoff.</font>