I have mixed feelings IMHO, HQ has demonstrated what seems to be deliberate blindness to what actually takes place in our airports. I pay more attention to a statement from the FSD at my local airport than I do to HQ. That doesn't necessarily mean I trust the FSD of my home airport - I don't - but the information might be more local and relevant than any generalized statement coming out of HQ.

Case in point: current wait times HQ averages them all together - times well in excess of 30 minutes at some airports and lower times at tiny airports that only service a few flights a day. As a pax, I don't want to hear 'average' figures designed to hide problems at major airports - I want the most accurate information I can find. I think the FSD is more likely to be willing to report actual wait times, not 'averaged to look better' times.

The union, of course, has its own spin It wants its own people to look good and management/pax to look bad. If it were more balanced, the union would admit that perhaps the number one disciplinary problem documented at TSA is attendance and tardies. Hardly surprising that a work force that tolerates extremely high rates of tardiness and poor attendance would experience greater rates of sick-outs during a government shutdown.