Sometimes I think I’d have trouble telling the difference ;}
AEROSPACE NOTEBOOK
By JAMES WALLACE
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Staff
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Aerospace Contractors are a dedicated group of Engineers that circle the country seeking the next high paying job. Contractors rarely, if ever, receive pay for time not worked. They usually have no benefits although some receive incentives such as holiday pay, Per Diem, and longevity bonuses. Per Diem is a daily tax-free living expense paid to the contractor. Longevity Bonus is usually one week’s pay or other amount paid after an established period of time, normally one year.
Contractors are known for showing up for work sick and/or injured in order to collect the pay and incentives that they depend on. They also count heavily on overtime which pays one-and-a-half times their normal hourly rate. Boeing has documented many instances where contractors have gone through extreme lengths in order to show up for work.
“We have seen people do extraordinary things before, but nothing like this,” said Randy Saseler, Boeing’s vice president of engineering. “I am sure this is a first.”
At 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning, January 29, Wanda Robertson, the wife of contractor Peter Robertson, rolled her dead husband into a Renton, WA Boeing facility using the dead man’s badge in order to gain entrance. She entered the building before most staff show up for work.
“I thought it was some kind of a joke,” said former co-worker David Palmer, “That coffin was in the corner for about a week and we thought the company was setting up some sort of show. We just ignored it. Geez, that was Peter?”
Mrs. Robinson is now facing charges of trespassing on Boeing property. According to a statement she filed with Renton police, Mr. Robertson was just one week shy of collecting his longevity bonus and would also have forfeited his Per Diem payment. Mrs. Robertson said that since he was physically at work, Boeing must pay him. “The kids and I really need that money.”
Tim Clark, a Boeing spokesman said, “We are educating ourselves about the legal aspects of this case. We have never had a case where a dead man continued to come to work. This is highly unusual. Obviously this woman is in need. We are considering paying her the money her husband would have received, as well as her husbands burial costs. We will however, add a clause in our future contracts so that this does not happen again. We just do not want dead people thinking that they can or should continue to come to work."
Aerospace Notebook is a Wednesday feature by P-I aerospace reporter James Wallace.
He can be reached at 206-448-8040 or jameswallace@seattlepi.com