Why Should I Stay?

We walked through the ramp for several minutes on our break to find the best and least-noisiest place on the bustling terminal one ramp to conduct my interview. It was around 5 pm, and the sun had finally fully set. The airport was bright and loud as usual. Finally, we gave up and decided to sit in my truck, parked by Gate 7 at terminal one. The look on his face when we escaped the cold windy air and entered the warmth of the grey Nissan pickup truck, said so much about my privilege as a mechanic. I sat there with Mohamed Alsaidi, a Dnata ramp agent, at terminal one in JFK. This wasn’t the first time we’ve sat in my truck to talk, ever since he and I have developed a close relationship working together on the ramp. I see him often on the ramp, and ever since we discovered we were both from Yemen, we’ve been friends ever since. However, this was the first time I really took notice of his features. Instantly, the first thing I noticed was his height, he was tall. He had to be about 6’3’’, and lanky. When he got into the truck, the first thing he did was push the seat all the way back to make room for his long legs, and then reclined the seat to get comfortable. Mohamed is a 20 year old Yemeni, Queens native like myself. Rapport was already established through several previous encounters, and with his body language of calmness and trust, I knew I’d find the honest answers to my questions about the ramp agents’ subculture. I’d discover the truth about the difficulties of the job and why many of the employees were male. Why many were young, why he or anyone would choose the job of a ramp agent, what’s his position as a ramp agent, and most importantly, why so many employees choose not to stay.

I raised the heat in the truck and blasted it towards our faces, as a response to Mohamed’s rubbing of his hands together for heat, in order to provide him a bit more comfort. He had just finished off-loading cargo on an AirFrance 777 flight, and he had a few minutes to talk before it was time to get back to work. He wore a dirty neon-green vest, so I had already made the correct assumption of his time of being a ramp agent for several months. We spoke about a few things such as family and school, before getting into the actual interview. My first interest was in why Mohamed chose to be a ramp agent, out of all the endless employment opportunities at JFK.

Wajdy Ali: Mohamed Alsaidi Ramp Interview

[Beginning of Recorded Material]

Wajdy:            What’s it about being a ramp agent and working in a fast-paced environment like that of JFK’s that made you even apply?

Mohamed:       Flight benefits I thought I’d get bro. My mom told me that since JFK was close to the house, and I can make a little extra cash, and even get flight benefits, then why not? I even applied to Delta to become a ramp agent, because they didn’t require any specific certificates, but they denied me, because of lack of experience.

Wajdy:            What kind of experience were they asking for?

Mohamed:       Just like ramp experience. Knowing how to use some of the equipment, like the tugs, or the loaders, or all that other shit we use.

Wajdy:            And what happened? Don’t you have the experience they were asking for?

Mohamed:       I do now, but not at the time. I’m sure they’d take me now, but I ain’t even trying to be here forever?

Wajdy:            Can you elaborate on that point, about not being here forever? As a matter of fact, hold on to that, we will get to that later. So, the next thing I want to ask is, what determines the duties you will be performing, and what are some of the difficulties of the job?

Mohamed:       At first, I really really hated the job. I didn’t know anyone, and there’s so much you have to learn in very little time. The supervisors suck, not all of them, but some. Some are cool.

Wajdy:            And why do some supervisors “suck”?

Mohamed:       Some of them really expect us to know everything on the first day. They follow all the rooks around making sure we don’t f*ck up, yet don’t come to show us how when I need it. Some of the other supervisors are dope, they’re understanding, and they only place us to work where we’re comfortable and prepared for.

Wajdy:            How do the supervisors affect the work getting done?

Mohamed:       Honestly, sometimes I think they’re useless. They do zero work, they always babbling on their walkie talkies. I mean they know a lot, and they can really get the newer guys out of sticky situations. You’ve seen it. When something happens last minute, and a whole bunch of supervisors show up to fix it.

Wajdy:            Yeah, I have. It’s best like that, because they’re going to be the ones who will have to deal with the customers later.

Mohamed:       Yeah true, but don’t you think some of those situations can be avoided if they helped out a little, instead of putting all the heavy work on us. Cause if they didn’t, we would be smooth sailing every day.

Wajdy:            I see, I see. How does one become a supervisor by the way? Or what determines your privileges at Dnata?

Mohamed:       Seniority is everything here bro. I’m sure it’s the same with you guys. Over here at Dnata they count the days bro. Seniority equals how much work you have to do. How much respect you get. Your choice of shifts. How much you get paid. Its everything, and it goes by the day. If I got hired a day before that guy (pointed at random ramp agent) you best believe he working that belt loader. We got 300 guys here, no other way to keep track of us all.

Wajdy:            Yes, very true for such a large company. We’re small, but seniority still means a lot. One thing I noticed is that there’s a lot of males who work here, and there’s new guys in and out of this place? Is there a specific reason, and what’s your own outlook of how long you will stay with Dnata?

Mohamed:       It’s simple. We work outside, get dirty, through rain, snow, sleet, and sun. It doesn’t matter the weather. We get our work done. We lift heavy things, move large equipment. The ladies don’t want to do that stuff. Some do, I’m going to lie, they work hard also, but for the most part they rather be doing other stuff. So, they leave like most other people.

Wajdy:            Why do you think people leave the ramp agent subculture so often?

Mohamed:       For the same reason I want to leave. We work hard bro. We kill ourselves here, working through the weather. Dealing with all kinds of stress. We work on expensive planes, yet we make nothing. We just barely make above minimum wage, when we should be getting paid way more. I’m in school now to become a mechanic also, so I can make the big bucks. I rather spend my time studying than working hard here for pocket change. Like really bro. Why should I stay?

[End of Recorded Material]

Mohammed’s reason in joining the ramp subculture is like many others also in the culture. That is, the idea of receiving free flights around the world and the airport is of close proximity to their homes. Thus, making a job like ramp work, ideal for younger adults seeking travel and extra cash. There’s a common misconception that all JFK employees get to fly for free, but that’s not the case, where only a very few do. Usually, employees of, major airliners such as Delta, American Airlines, or United Airlines, are privileged enough to fly for free, while contract companies such as Dnata, do not (Monster.com n. pg.)

The ramp subculture is vast, in which every airport all over the world harbors the culture. Wherever there’s airplanes, there will be ramp agents to handle the cargo. According to Mohammed, there’s 300 active ramp agents, just at terminal one. Management plays a huge role in any work environment, and I can sense the importance of proper leadership in a team-work orientated work site. Mohammed spoke about having more favorable supervisors than others, and the importance of their leadership to the job. Working as a ramp agent, it requires a lot of teamwork and communication to complete the job. Everyone oversees their own task and equipment, and it requires synchronization of all the crewmembers to off-load and load the plane safely. When supervisors make the workplace stressful, it adds unneeded stress to an already strenuous job.

Being an aircraft technician, similar ideologies of seniority play a role in the daily job. Of course, one who has been with a company longer would feel more entitled, but it really comes down to your extent of experience as a mechanic. What you know will take you much farther in maintenance, but that’s not the case in the ramp agent subculture. Dnata has roughly around 300 employees and deciding on how to allocate privileges based on work habit is a difficult task. To keep track of achievements rather than the time spent as employees would cause trouble as some would feel more entitled to others. The easiest way to then decided who does what and how choices are made, is time-based seniority. Mohammed even included that there’s a roster in Dnata’s main office, with all the employees and their rank depending on the date they were hire.