航空公司在航班上都會(huì)提供嘔吐袋,,但不幸的是,,還是經(jīng)常有人吐在機(jī)艙地板甚至座位上,,而清理工作自然也不會(huì)由旅客負(fù)責(zé)。
對(duì)此我是深有體會(huì),。為了支付讀大學(xué)的費(fèi)用,,我曾經(jīng)在洛杉磯國(guó)際機(jī)場(chǎng)做過飛機(jī)保潔的夜班工作,這份工作讓我學(xué)到了很多東西,。
說起機(jī)場(chǎng)工作,,人們首先想到的往往是飛行員和空乘充滿浪漫色彩的工作,比如:旅行免費(fèi),,收入體面,,有時(shí)還能在頭等艙遇到一些知名人士。而幕后的地勤工作卻鮮有人關(guān)注,,但這種工作可以帶給你很多人生感悟,。
現(xiàn)在想想,我對(duì)自己去做飛機(jī)保潔工作還是會(huì)感到不可思議,。2013年,,當(dāng)我踏入長(zhǎng)灘城市學(xué)院學(xué)習(xí)社會(huì)學(xué)專業(yè)時(shí),內(nèi)心激動(dòng)不已,。然而,,第一學(xué)期剛過半,我就碰上了財(cái)務(wù)問題,。我的學(xué)費(fèi)補(bǔ)助能夠覆蓋學(xué)費(fèi),、書本費(fèi)、學(xué)習(xí)用品費(fèi),、課程材料費(fèi)及其他與學(xué)校相關(guān)的費(fèi)用,,但在支付住房、交通,、食品,、醫(yī)療保健及其他的基本生活費(fèi)用時(shí)就有些捉襟見肘了,當(dāng)時(shí)我常常要在吃午飯和坐公交去上學(xué)之間做出選擇,。
第一年春季學(xué)期結(jié)束時(shí),,我的成績(jī)很好,但手里除了用過的書本,,連5毛錢都拿不出,,對(duì)我而言,如果還想繼續(xù)做全日制學(xué)生,,就必須得去找份全職工作。
我當(dāng)時(shí)申請(qǐng)了所有可以申請(qǐng)的初級(jí)職位,。麥當(dāng)勞回復(fù)說我做他們的工作是“大材小用”,。我還申請(qǐng)了一個(gè)為期9周的認(rèn)證護(hù)理項(xiàng)目,,不過后來也取消了,原因是這個(gè)項(xiàng)目要等9周才能拿到津貼,,而我等不了那么長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間,。
最后,我跟美國(guó)航空公司旗下的一家承包公司簽訂了雇傭合同,,工作地點(diǎn)在洛杉磯國(guó)際機(jī)場(chǎng),。僅從合同內(nèi)容來看,這份工作還不錯(cuò):全職工作,、工作時(shí)間靈活,、享有健康福利、時(shí)薪9.4美元(2013年加州的最低工資是8美元),。
作為機(jī)艙保潔員,,剛?cè)肼殨r(shí)我都是上夜班。在一次安全簡(jiǎn)報(bào)會(huì)后,,我和同事被分為了若干個(gè)班組,,每組五到六個(gè)人,分別負(fù)責(zé)三到五架飛機(jī)的保潔工作,。
我們每次會(huì)花大約一到兩小時(shí)去做“深度清潔”工作,,也就是打掃所有的折疊餐桌、窗戶,、機(jī)艙艙壁和扶手,,還要檢查機(jī)艙內(nèi)的儲(chǔ)物柜。為機(jī)上的洗手間,、駕駛艙和廚房補(bǔ)貨也是我們的工作,。完成這些工作之后,我們需要檢查每一個(gè)救生用品艙,,補(bǔ)上缺失的救生用品,,然后我們要面對(duì)整個(gè)機(jī)艙,對(duì)其進(jìn)行徹底的安全檢查,。沒錯(cuò),,確保飛行安全的不是運(yùn)輸管理局,而是我們這些機(jī)艙保潔員,。
這份工作有時(shí)會(huì)讓人反胃,。當(dāng)飛機(jī)經(jīng)過長(zhǎng)途飛行從倫敦、悉尼,、東京(成田機(jī)場(chǎng))或香港飛回洛杉磯時(shí),,機(jī)艙內(nèi)的狀況可謂慘不忍睹。每一個(gè)垃圾桶都已經(jīng)不堪重負(fù),,座艙里到處都可以看到散落在垃圾桶外的垃圾,。你會(huì)看到水槽里還沒有沖下去的嘔吐物,,還有衛(wèi)生間內(nèi)外沾上的糞便,。
令我訝異的是,我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己竟然很享受機(jī)場(chǎng)夜晚的寧靜,。工作的時(shí)光過得飛快,,我和同事也都成了朋友。但是要想兼顧機(jī)場(chǎng)的工作和學(xué)業(yè)也并非易事,。有時(shí),,我會(huì)因?yàn)橐拱嗵鄱鵁o法上課或者工作太忙而來不及完成作業(yè)。在那些上課的日子里,,我有時(shí)則會(huì)因?yàn)樗^頭而導(dǎo)致上班遲到,。
2014年秋季學(xué)期結(jié)束時(shí),學(xué)校給了我留校察看的處分,,公司也因?yàn)槲胰鼻谔嘟o我下了最后通牒,。經(jīng)過權(quán)衡,我做出了一個(gè)日后讓我頗為后悔的決定:暫時(shí)休學(xué),、繼續(xù)工作,。
家人對(duì)我的決定感到非常失望。和我一起生活的祖母非常嚴(yán)肅地對(duì)我說,,工作是暫時(shí)的,,但教育則是永恒的。而我則認(rèn)為自己能夠從工作中獲得自己想要的一切,,因而休學(xué)是正確的選擇,。隨后,我從保潔員升職成為了負(fù)責(zé)機(jī)艙服務(wù)調(diào)度的運(yùn)營(yíng)調(diào)度員,,在美國(guó)航空空中交通管制中心負(fù)責(zé)為每一架進(jìn)港飛機(jī)安排保潔人員,。
機(jī)艙保潔主要是體力活,而調(diào)度則需要對(duì)何時(shí),、何地派出保潔員進(jìn)行統(tǒng)籌和規(guī)劃,。不幸的是,管理層過于欣賞我的才能,,一分鐘都不舍得讓我休息,。8個(gè)小時(shí)連軸轉(zhuǎn),既不能休息,,也沒有時(shí)間吃飯,,我時(shí)常會(huì)有種遭受了不公待遇的感覺,。但在我試圖將自己的遭遇反映給經(jīng)理時(shí),得到的卻只有冷眼,。之后又來了新的管理層,他們對(duì)員工的壓榨更加變本加厲,,員工的休息時(shí)間越來越少,,還得被迫加班。老員工要么被裁要么辭職,,管理層也不會(huì)補(bǔ)充新人,。作為調(diào)度員,我手下一開始每班有40名員工(10個(gè)班組,,每組4人),,后來慢慢減少到了18至20個(gè)人(6個(gè)班組)。但是需要保潔的飛機(jī)數(shù)量卻并沒有任何減少,。
幸運(yùn)的是,,這家承包公司后來又換了愿意傾聽員工聲音的新管理層,,他們雇傭了更多的員工,我的同事們也紛紛升職加薪,。2018年,,我找到我的經(jīng)理,,跟他說了自己想回學(xué)校讀書的事,。令我驚訝的是,他很爽快地答應(yīng)了,。但就在新學(xué)期即將開始的時(shí)候,,我們公司失去了美國(guó)航空公司的合同。
這一消息讓我頓時(shí)傻眼,。當(dāng)時(shí)的我既沒有了工作,,也沒有了學(xué)業(yè),。如果當(dāng)初我沒有休學(xué),那么我在2017年春季應(yīng)該就已經(jīng)拿到學(xué)士學(xué)位了,。
在機(jī)場(chǎng)工作的經(jīng)歷讓我學(xué)到了在學(xué)校學(xué)不到的東西,,讓我理解了商業(yè)、戰(zhàn)略,、職業(yè)道德和金錢的價(jià)值(我們都是為了錢而努力工作),。但我得回學(xué)校念書了。在洛杉磯航空公司做了五年飛機(jī)保潔工作的我還從未坐過一次飛機(jī),,直至今天我才終于明白祖母所說的“工作是暫時(shí)的,,但教育則是永恒的”這句話的含義。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
沙尼斯?約瑟夫現(xiàn)在就讀于長(zhǎng)灘城市學(xué)院社會(huì)學(xué)專業(yè),,她熱衷于通過寫作來幫助社區(qū),、教育他人。
譯者:Feb
航空公司在航班上都會(huì)提供嘔吐袋,,但不幸的是,,還是經(jīng)常有人吐在機(jī)艙地板甚至座位上,而清理工作自然也不會(huì)由旅客負(fù)責(zé),。
對(duì)此我是深有體會(huì),。為了支付讀大學(xué)的費(fèi)用,我曾經(jīng)在洛杉磯國(guó)際機(jī)場(chǎng)做過飛機(jī)保潔的夜班工作,,這份工作讓我學(xué)到了很多東西,。
說起機(jī)場(chǎng)工作,人們首先想到的往往是飛行員和空乘充滿浪漫色彩的工作,,比如:旅行免費(fèi),,收入體面,有時(shí)還能在頭等艙遇到一些知名人士,。而幕后的地勤工作卻鮮有人關(guān)注,,但這種工作可以帶給你很多人生感悟。
現(xiàn)在想想,,我對(duì)自己去做飛機(jī)保潔工作還是會(huì)感到不可思議,。2013年,當(dāng)我踏入長(zhǎng)灘城市學(xué)院學(xué)習(xí)社會(huì)學(xué)專業(yè)時(shí),,內(nèi)心激動(dòng)不已,。然而,第一學(xué)期剛過半,,我就碰上了財(cái)務(wù)問題,。我的學(xué)費(fèi)補(bǔ)助能夠覆蓋學(xué)費(fèi)、書本費(fèi)、學(xué)習(xí)用品費(fèi),、課程材料費(fèi)及其他與學(xué)校相關(guān)的費(fèi)用,,但在支付住房、交通,、食品,、醫(yī)療保健及其他的基本生活費(fèi)用時(shí)就有些捉襟見肘了,當(dāng)時(shí)我常常要在吃午飯和坐公交去上學(xué)之間做出選擇,。
第一年春季學(xué)期結(jié)束時(shí),,我的成績(jī)很好,但手里除了用過的書本,,連5毛錢都拿不出,對(duì)我而言,,如果還想繼續(xù)做全日制學(xué)生,,就必須得去找份全職工作。
我當(dāng)時(shí)申請(qǐng)了所有可以申請(qǐng)的初級(jí)職位,。麥當(dāng)勞回復(fù)說我做他們的工作是“大材小用”,。我還申請(qǐng)了一個(gè)為期9周的認(rèn)證護(hù)理項(xiàng)目,不過后來也取消了,,原因是這個(gè)項(xiàng)目要等9周才能拿到津貼,,而我等不了那么長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間。
最后,,我跟美國(guó)航空公司旗下的一家承包公司簽訂了雇傭合同,,工作地點(diǎn)在洛杉磯國(guó)際機(jī)場(chǎng)。僅從合同內(nèi)容來看,,這份工作還不錯(cuò):全職工作,、工作時(shí)間靈活、享有健康福利,、時(shí)薪9.4美元(2013年加州的最低工資是8美元),。
作為機(jī)艙保潔員,剛?cè)肼殨r(shí)我都是上夜班,。在一次安全簡(jiǎn)報(bào)會(huì)后,,我和同事被分為了若干個(gè)班組,每組五到六個(gè)人,,分別負(fù)責(zé)三到五架飛機(jī)的保潔工作,。
我們每次會(huì)花大約一到兩小時(shí)去做“深度清潔”工作,也就是打掃所有的折疊餐桌,、窗戶,、機(jī)艙艙壁和扶手,還要檢查機(jī)艙內(nèi)的儲(chǔ)物柜。為機(jī)上的洗手間,、駕駛艙和廚房補(bǔ)貨也是我們的工作,。完成這些工作之后,我們需要檢查每一個(gè)救生用品艙,,補(bǔ)上缺失的救生用品,,然后我們要面對(duì)整個(gè)機(jī)艙,對(duì)其進(jìn)行徹底的安全檢查,。沒錯(cuò),,確保飛行安全的不是運(yùn)輸管理局,而是我們這些機(jī)艙保潔員,。
這份工作有時(shí)會(huì)讓人反胃,。當(dāng)飛機(jī)經(jīng)過長(zhǎng)途飛行從倫敦、悉尼,、東京(成田機(jī)場(chǎng))或香港飛回洛杉磯時(shí),,機(jī)艙內(nèi)的狀況可謂慘不忍睹。每一個(gè)垃圾桶都已經(jīng)不堪重負(fù),,座艙里到處都可以看到散落在垃圾桶外的垃圾,。你會(huì)看到水槽里還沒有沖下去的嘔吐物,還有衛(wèi)生間內(nèi)外沾上的糞便,。
令我訝異的是,,我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己竟然很享受機(jī)場(chǎng)夜晚的寧靜。工作的時(shí)光過得飛快,,我和同事也都成了朋友,。但是要想兼顧機(jī)場(chǎng)的工作和學(xué)業(yè)也并非易事。有時(shí),,我會(huì)因?yàn)橐拱嗵鄱鵁o法上課或者工作太忙而來不及完成作業(yè),。在那些上課的日子里,我有時(shí)則會(huì)因?yàn)樗^頭而導(dǎo)致上班遲到,。
2014年秋季學(xué)期結(jié)束時(shí),,學(xué)校給了我留校察看的處分,公司也因?yàn)槲胰鼻谔嘟o我下了最后通牒,。經(jīng)過權(quán)衡,,我做出了一個(gè)日后讓我頗為后悔的決定:暫時(shí)休學(xué)、繼續(xù)工作,。
家人對(duì)我的決定感到非常失望,。和我一起生活的祖母非常嚴(yán)肅地對(duì)我說,工作是暫時(shí)的,,但教育則是永恒的,。而我則認(rèn)為自己能夠從工作中獲得自己想要的一切,因而休學(xué)是正確的選擇。隨后,,我從保潔員升職成為了負(fù)責(zé)機(jī)艙服務(wù)調(diào)度的運(yùn)營(yíng)調(diào)度員,,在美國(guó)航空空中交通管制中心負(fù)責(zé)為每一架進(jìn)港飛機(jī)安排保潔人員。
機(jī)艙保潔主要是體力活,,而調(diào)度則需要對(duì)何時(shí),、何地派出保潔員進(jìn)行統(tǒng)籌和規(guī)劃。不幸的是,,管理層過于欣賞我的才能,,一分鐘都不舍得讓我休息。8個(gè)小時(shí)連軸轉(zhuǎn),,既不能休息,,也沒有時(shí)間吃飯,我時(shí)常會(huì)有種遭受了不公待遇的感覺,。但在我試圖將自己的遭遇反映給經(jīng)理時(shí),,得到的卻只有冷眼。之后又來了新的管理層,,他們對(duì)員工的壓榨更加變本加厲,員工的休息時(shí)間越來越少,,還得被迫加班,。老員工要么被裁要么辭職,管理層也不會(huì)補(bǔ)充新人,。作為調(diào)度員,,我手下一開始每班有40名員工(10個(gè)班組,每組4人),,后來慢慢減少到了18至20個(gè)人(6個(gè)班組),。但是需要保潔的飛機(jī)數(shù)量卻并沒有任何減少。
幸運(yùn)的是,,這家承包公司后來又換了愿意傾聽員工聲音的新管理層,,他們雇傭了更多的員工,我的同事們也紛紛升職加薪,。2018年,,我找到我的經(jīng)理,跟他說了自己想回學(xué)校讀書的事,。令我驚訝的是,,他很爽快地答應(yīng)了。但就在新學(xué)期即將開始的時(shí)候,,我們公司失去了美國(guó)航空公司的合同,。
這一消息讓我頓時(shí)傻眼。當(dāng)時(shí)的我既沒有了工作,也沒有了學(xué)業(yè),。如果當(dāng)初我沒有休學(xué),,那么我在2017年春季應(yīng)該就已經(jīng)拿到學(xué)士學(xué)位了。
在機(jī)場(chǎng)工作的經(jīng)歷讓我學(xué)到了在學(xué)校學(xué)不到的東西,,讓我理解了商業(yè),、戰(zhàn)略、職業(yè)道德和金錢的價(jià)值(我們都是為了錢而努力工作),。但我得回學(xué)校念書了,。在洛杉磯航空公司做了五年飛機(jī)保潔工作的我還從未坐過一次飛機(jī),直至今天我才終于明白祖母所說的“工作是暫時(shí)的,,但教育則是永恒的”這句話的含義,。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
沙尼斯?約瑟夫現(xiàn)在就讀于長(zhǎng)灘城市學(xué)院社會(huì)學(xué)專業(yè),她熱衷于通過寫作來幫助社區(qū),、教育他人,。
譯者:Feb
The airlines provide barf bags, but the dirty secret is that people often don’t use them. They throw up on the floor and the seats. This is not a society that cleans up after itself.
This is one of the lessons I learned, all too well, when I was trying to support my college education by cleaning the insides of airplanes at LAX in the middle of the night.
When people think about working at the airport, they often think of the romance of being a pilot or a flight attendant—traveling for free, being paid decently, maybe meeting a few celebrities in first class. They don’t often think about working on “the ramp” side of the airport, in behind-the-scenes jobs that few people seek out but can teach you quite a bit about life and yourself.
I’m still surprised I ended up cleaning planes. When I began attending Long Beach City College in 2013, I was passionate about my major (sociology), and I couldn’t have been any happier. But by the middle of the first semester, I was in financial trouble. My financial aid covered the cost of enrollment, books, supplies, course materials, and school-related fees. But I could not afford housing, transportation, food, healthcare, or other basics. I often had to choose between eating lunch and having bus fare to attend class.
When spring semester ended that first year, I had good grades, and books I no longer needed, but I did not have fifty cents to my name. I decided that if I was going to be able to afford to be a full-time student, I would need a full-time job.
I applied for every entry-level job I could. McDonald’s said I was overqualified. I applied for a nine-week certified nursing program but deregistered because I could not wait nine weeks to receive my first stipend.
Eventually, I was hired by a contract company under American Airlines at Los Angeles International Airport. On paper, it was decent job. We received full-time hours, flexible schedules, health benefits, and $9.40 hourly (in 2013, California’s minimum wage was $8).
I started as a cleaner of aircraft cabins on the graveyard shift. After a safety briefing, my coworkers and I were split into crews of five to six people, and we were assigned three to five aircraft.
We spent around an hour or two doing “deep cleaning”—cleaning each tray table, window, wall, and armrest, and securing all compartments in the cabin. We restocked the lavatories, cockpit, and galleys. We also checked every safety compartment and replaced any missing items. And then we dismantled the cabin—an extensive security search that involved taking the aircraft apart. That’s right, the Transportation Security Administration does not secure aircraft; cabin cleaners do.
This could be disgusting work. When planes were coming long-distance from London, Sydney, Narita or Hong Kong, it was horrible. Trash would overflow every bin and was stuck in every compartment. You’d find throw-up in the sink, and feces spread in places both inside and outside bathrooms.
I discovered—to my surprise—that I enjoyed how peaceful the airport could be at night. The work went by fast. I made friends with co-workers. But working at the airport and going to school did not fit easily together. Some days I was too exhausted after working a graveyard shift to get to class. Other days I didn't have time to complete school assignments because of a busy workday. On the days I went to school, I would oversleep for work and come late.
By the end of the fall 2014 semester, I was on academic probation and I had received a final warning for my attendance at my job. So I chose to stop school and continue working, a decision I would later regret.
My family was disappointed. My grandmother, with whom I lived, stressed that a job is temporary, but an education is forever. I justified missing school by deciding that I would get everything I could out of the work experience. So I rose beyond cleaning, to working as an operational dispatcher for cabin services in the American Airlines traffic control center, assign cleaning crews to each incoming aircraft.
Where cabin cleaning required much physical work, being a dispatcher required planning and strategizing for where and when to send cleaners. Unfortunately, management loved my planning skills so much they overworked me. I often felt mistreated—forced to dispatch for eight hours straight without a lunch or a break. When I tried to bring it to the attention of a manager, my complaints would be dismissed. Then new management arrived. They pushed even harder, demanding even more work without breaks, and forced overtime. People were terminated or quit and weren’t replaced. As a dispatcher, I went from having 40 employees (10 crews of four employees) on a shift to having 18 to 20 people (6 crews). But there were still just as many planes to clean.
Fortunately, the contract company again got new management, which was open to hearing from employees. More employees were being hired, and coworkers were getting raises and promotions. In 2018, I approached my manager about returning to school. To my surprise, he said yes. But just as the new semester was starting, our company lost its contract with American Airlines.
I felt stupid. Now I would have neither job nor education. If I could have stayed in school full-time, I would have had my bachelor’s degree in spring 2017.
The airport taught me lessons that school could not—about business, strategizing, work ethics, the value of a dollar (we worked so hard for our money). But I needed to go back to school. After five years cleaning planes at LAX, and never flying on one of them, I’d finally learned what my grandmother meant when she said that your job is temporary, and your education is forever.
Shanice Joseph is a sociology student at Long Beach City College. She has a passion for helping her community and educating others through her writing.