The Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors rejected a Thursday call to withhold a $12.3 million grant award for a Pensacola State College Airframe and Powerplant program until such time as ST Engineering reimburses and covers travel costs for 300 Chilean workers the company had brought to this country.
Grace Resendez McCaffrey , founder of the Hispanic Resource Center of Northwest Florida and South Alabama, has become an advocate for Chilean workers. She alleges the workers were recruited to Mobile and Pensacola by ST Engineering with promises of long-term, high-paying jobs and the possibility of obtaining citizenship.
She told the board the 300 people brought to this country were educated and trained aerospace professionals who received lower wages than promised, were ordered to make inadequate repairs to the planes they worked on and then were laid off and left to fend for themselves.
"While we should all applaud creating new jobs in the aerospace industry, I implore you to listen to the people who accepted these jobs and understand the inhuman treatment they have endured under this employer," Resendez McCaffery said.
ST Engineering worker controversy: Pensacola demands answers from ST Engineering on hiring after Chilean workers laid off
The Chillean workers' visas won't allow them to work anywhere other that ST Engineering, she told the board, and many of those who arrived to work for ST Engineering purchased homes in the area and find themselves saddled with debt.
She asked that funding be withheld until ST Engineering provides a three-month severance package to all 300 workers and enough financial assistance to cover transportation back to their home country.
"I would like to ask you to wait to approve this funding until they make things right with every one of these employees," said Resendez McCaffrey.
Despite the objections, the board voted 6-1 to move forward with grant approval. Board Chairman David Bear argued that ST Engineering would not be the only company in Northwest Florida to benefit from the airframe and powerplant certification program, which it is hoped will produce qualified aircraft manufacturing workers.
The grant will allow the college to match it with funds received from other sources to embark on a $23 million plan to create an educational space for 420 students who will be working toward one of three certifications: general mechanical, airframe and powerplant.
The Triumph funds will go towards the purchase of equipment, salaries, supplies, certificate and student fee waivers, recruiting, and technology, grant documents said. The program has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
After Resendez McCaffrey spoke, PSC President Ed Meadows also stood up in favor of the Triumph grant being awarded Thursday. He argued that the college has a long-term vision and the aviation industry will be a valuable Northwest Florida industry for many years to come. He said ST Engineering's future could be less certain.
"For all we know, in five or 10 years ST Engineering might not be here. Some other major company might have come in," he said.
He said that while it is true ST Engineering, on whose Pensacola International Airport campus the 25,000 foot facility housing the PSC training program will be housed, "will be hiring a very large portion" of students attaining certification, "if its corporate culture remains as it is" its recruitment efforts could suffer.
"If they go away we'll be fine," Meadows said. "This is a multi-use facility."
Triumph Gulf Coast is a nonprofit created by Florida to distribute $1.5 billion in BP oil spill settlement funds to economic development projects in the eight Northwest Florida counties adversely impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.
Millions provided for Santa Rosa County land purchase
The Triumph Board also voted Thursday to finalize a $7 million contract that will allow Santa Rosa County to spend $4.3 million to buy 40 acres on Garcon Point Road. The additional funding will go toward wetland mitigation and installing infrastructure on the site.
The construction-ready land, suitable to build a warehouse of 400,000 square feet, will be leased to the highest bidder, and Santa Rosa County Economic Development Director Shannon Ogletree believes the property can be rented for between $400,000 and $500,000 annually. The lease payments will be put back into economic development to be used for purposes such as matching funds for grants or as incentives for new businesses looking for a place to settle.
Ogletree said Thursday the county's next step will be purchasing the land from owners Buddy and Vicki Smith. The property is located next to a Stuckey's store and close to Interstate 10. A conservative estimate put the number of jobs that could be created by a potential new business that would fit that size location at 175.
Tate High School gets auto body building bucks
The board also voted to provide $617,000 to renovate a former Auto Body building at Tate High School.
"This program has been closed for decades, and the building has become a storage area," pre-application documents said. "Much of the existing facility can be used with a bit of renovation and maintenance."
The funding will be used to remove outdated existing automotive lifts and bring in more modern equipment . Work will also be needed to bring some systems back to operational status and spruce up the building itself, where classrooms, offices and restrooms need renovation.
At full implementation, the Automotive Maintenance Academy will serve approximately 150 students per year, according to the application. Students in grades 9-12 will be allowed to participate in automotive classes, while students in grades 11-12 will have opportunities for work-based learning.
Tate students will also have the option of attending George Stone Technical College as a dual-enrolled student in the school's Automotive Service program, and all high school students will be prepared to earn Florida certifications offered by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Despite objections, Triumph approves funding for PSC aircraft maintenance program
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