FORT WORTH, Texas - For most of us a lunch break means grabbing a salad or a maybe a burger. But for some Lockheed Martin workers, lunch time has taken on a whole new meaning…that includes grabbing a cold one.
The Lockheed Martin slogan is “We never forget who we are working for…” That’s because more than 80% of the company’s revenue comes from the federal government…and you, the taxpayer.
It’s a company that makes some of the most high-tech military combat aircraft in the world, like the F-16 and F-35. It’s the largest weapons producer and federal contractor in the U.S. And you, the taxpayer help pick up the tab, to the tune of billions of dollars every year.
Security is tight at the company’s Fort Worth facility, with guards and fences around the property. At lunch time the facility comes alive as workers pour out of the gates. But that’s not the only pouring going on…
In early March, FOX 4 checked-out a tip. Our cameras spot two pick-up trucks parked underneath a tree in a lot across the street from the Lockheed Martin facility. We barely see someone in one truck drinking from a plastic cup. But a man in the other truck doesn’t leave anything to our imagination as he drinks from a blue and silver can and then tosses the can out of the truck and onto the ground. When the trucks pull away, there is a sea of evidence left behind...empty Bud Light cans and liquor bottles surrounding the base of the tree.
The next day they’re back again. Three trucks show up under the tree. After about 30 minutes of chugging they toss their empty cans on to the ground, dump-out their cooler, and head back to Lockheed.
The next week? You guessed it. The men in trucks are back at the tree. They chug…and chug…and visit. Then they toss their cans and head back to work.
For several weeks we recorded Albert Garcia, sometimes as a passenger and sometimes in his own truck.
“Do you work over here at Lockheed?” Becky Oliver asked Garcia. “Uh, huh,” Garcia confirmed. “What do you do over here?” asked Oliver. “Aircraft mechanic,” he responded.
We told the aircraft mechanic that we’d seen Lockheed workers drinking under the tree.
“Were you one of those guys?” asked Oliver. “No,” said Garcia. “You weren’t?” asked Oliver. “No,” Garcia said again. “Your truck was over there,” said Oliver. “Right. Well I don’t even go out for lunch,” Garcia explained.
No? In late March we watched him sit in his truck taking one swig after another and then tossing five beer cans out his truck window before going back to work.
Manuel Torres is another worker we saw drinking on several occasions.
“Mr. Torres, we’d like to speak with you about what has been going on under this tree over here,” said Becky Oliver. “We have some video of you under this tree, drinking with friends,” Oliver explained. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Torres replied.
But on a day in March we see Torres with Raymond Magallon. The two get in to Magallon’s truck and there under the tree they talk and drink…and talk and drink. Magallon told our producer he works in the “paint department.”
“Do you know if they’re hiring?” We asked. “(It’s) hard to say,” Magallon responded. “They’re hiring in some places and laying off in others,” he continued. “Do you guys work in shipping?” We asked. “No, I don’t,” said Magallon. “I work in the paint department,” said Magallon. Days later, Becky Oliver talked to Magallon.
“We want to talk to you about what your car has been doing underneath a tree across from Lockheed,” said Oliver. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Magallon responded. “Your car has never been parked under a tree across from the plant…been over there with a bunch of other cars?”
We caught up with Magallon at a drive-through bank. We asked if he would pull over and talk to us but no such luck.
We also asked Lockheed Martin for an on-camera interview. The company declined but told us it tests for drugs and alcohol if there is reason to think an employee is impaired.
In a statement the company’s spokesperson, Joe Stout says:
“Lockheed Martin does not permit any use of alcohol on company property and our employees are subject to testing if we have reason to believe they are impaired at work due to alcohol or drug use. We have a substance abuse policy that reinforces our responsibility to our customers and our employees to provide a safe, highly productive and efficient operation. If an employee violates that policy, we will take appropriate action. We are committed to delivering the highest quality, most reliable, and safest military aircraft and systems possible to our customers and we take this commitment very seriously.”
The same tipster who contacted us had already contacted Lockheed Martin. When the lunchtime ritual didn’t stop, he contacted FOX 4. Lockheed Martin says the company’s security department investigated and found no evidence that workers were coming back to work impaired.
Only one Lockheed employee admitted his truck may have been parked under the tree across
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