I worked here a year ago as a technician. It means you work in the fab section; a hot, sequestered, unkempt warehouse of a building with an autoclave and some other ancient equipment. You are not allowed to leave unless on specified breaks, bathroom usage will be monitored, and there will be no phone calls. Not for security concerns, the physical and information security is a joke-- it's just to keep you busy.The building is set up so that visitors see a well maintained entrance -- office staff even have a cleaner, better equip break area (newer coffee machine, silverware/plates). Obviously the floor workers cannot be trusted with plates.
On my first day, I was shown a several power points in rapid succession, concerning safety, dangerous materials, and hazardous chemicals. I was then told that I was shown these so that AAR would not be responsible if I claim I had not been trained on hazardous material, safety, etc. There was no test or study time, or assurance that I had learned the material. I was then put on the assembly floor (fulfilling Sikorsky or Gulfstream contract) and put to work. Left alone and told to operate a panel saw by day two, with no prior experience, but some loose instruction and guidelines.
In the only bathroom covering the drainage vent is a piece of aircraft material cut in a circle, with a sharpie inscription that reads: DO NOT REMOVE, DANGEROUS FUMES. You'll often hear workers withstanding the smell to make a phone call from a stall, as that's the only place you can do it.
Overtime is available, but unruly hours and unreasonable turnaround expectations on the parts you're making. We were often rushed and "begged" to work overtime in order to meet some deadline. In my time there I had also had to rush to prepare the floor for an inspection that we failed-- necessary for some accreditation, though we were only told the minimum.
I've got a lot more, but long story short? It's like working in a sweat shop, with QC so bad that these people (management) absolutely should not be entrusted with presidential aircraft interiors and frankly anything related to aircraft, purely out of concern for public safety.
