Newsstand - Lure of eight TSA jobs draws 500 in Salem

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070413/NEWS/704130314/1001

The prospect of eight part-time jobs at McNary Field drew a crowd of nearly 500 people.
People packed Mission Mill Museum to near capacity Thursday evening to learn more about Transportation Security Administration jobs at the Salem airport.
Regularly scheduled air service is expected to begin in June, and the TSA plans to hire eight Salem-area residents to screen passengers. The agency did not accept applications or do interviews Thursday. Instead, it told job prospects about the TSA's mission, answered questions and gathered contact information.

This just shows that the economy isn't as rosey as this current administration would lead you to believe. 500 people applying for 8 part-time jobs is scary.

My sympathy for McDonalds, who is about to lose so many workers. :D

Is it really a coincidence, or has TSA found that a person trained to say "Do ya want fries with that?" can more easily be retrained to say "Do ya wanna fly today?"

This just shows that the economy isn't as rosey as this current administration would lead you to believe. 500 people applying for 8 part-time jobs is scary.

Nowhere in the article does it say that 500 people applied for those jobs. It was an informational meeting only. You had to apply online. I know someone who mainly went out of curiousity, but was thinking about applying. I'm sure most of the people there didn't actually apply. My friend didn't. While the pay was good, the hours were lousy (you had to work split shifts). On the other hand, the chances of going from part-time to full-time were pretty good, and considering the benefits that came with it, there were a lot of upsides to the positions.

As for the comment about fast-food workers, I think that's really uncalled for. :td:

Fairviewroad: are you arguing that the economy is great? Or that fast food workers need love too? :) Or what?

Fairviewroad: are you arguing that the economy is great? Or that fast food workers need love too? :) Or what?

I'll refrain from making any comments about the economy, except to say that the conclusion that Absinthe reached was based on a faulty assumption. Not a big deal, though.

As for fast food workers...I helped pay for my college tuition by working at a fast food restaurant, and I reject the implication that all fast food workers are idiots. I really don't see how helpful or accurate it is to suggest that all fast food workers and all TSA screeners are complete idiots.