Pistole Disputes "Thousands Standing Around"
Dec 8, 2011, 2:17 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
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Pistole Disputes "Thousands Standing Around"
Mr. Pistole appears to be taking it from many sides according to this report.
Pistole's response:
A former TSA official was quoted as saying if the TSA went to risk based security they would need a smaller workforce, but went on to say that such an approach would be politically unfeasible.
U.S. Representative John Mica, who helped write the law creating the Transportation Security Administration, calls it “a bloated bureaucracy.” TSA deserves the nickname “Thousands Standing Around,” Representative Paul Broun says.
Those who say that we’re inefficient or bloated -- I’d be glad to sit down and go through the books and say, ’OK, how would you staff this differently?’” Pistole said in an interview yesterday at Bloomberg’s Washington bureau.Airports are “optimally staffed,” he said, while allowing that “there’s something to” the argument by Mica, a Florida Republican, and Broun, a Georgia Republican, that TSA’s administrative staff of 4,000 in the Washington area could be thinned.
Broun, in a letter today to Pistole, wrote that he would “gladly accept your offer to sit down and go through” the TSA’s records. The measures Pistole has taken to reduce administrative staff can’t compensate for the “massive growth” of the agency over 10 years, Broun wrote.
Last edited by greentips; Dec 29, 2011 at 9:31 am Reason: revised and fixed link to article
Dec 8, 2011, 2:25 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2007
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well based off my last 4 RT i have seen no less then 6-10 government clerks standing around doing nothing while the line backed up. Better yet put the ball back in the airlines court and terminate TSA and bury the remains in the depths of the oceans so as not to be repeated ever ever ever again!
Dec 8, 2011, 3:53 pm
#5
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: DTW
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Made my first trip out of DTW this week in over a year. The two TDCs at the checkpoint are now up to at least eight when you add in the chat down procedure, a mystery BDO tapping away on his hand held computer and multiple people to manage a line that does not need managing.
Dec 8, 2011, 4:13 pm
#6
Join Date: Jul 1999
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Posts: 3,520
The Nude-O-Scopes are a cause for a huge amount of bloat.
With a WTMD, there is only 1 clerk. With a Nude-O-Scope, there are usually 4 clerks. 1 In front, two on the other side (Male + Female) and one sitting in a private room looking at a screen and doing god knows what (and I'm assuming they are still doing this even for the ATR machines to make sure they are doing their job).
How many Nude-O-Scopes are there? Multiply that by 3 and that's how many more people need to be staffed... Ridiculous.
With a WTMD, there is only 1 clerk. With a Nude-O-Scope, there are usually 4 clerks. 1 In front, two on the other side (Male + Female) and one sitting in a private room looking at a screen and doing god knows what (and I'm assuming they are still doing this even for the ATR machines to make sure they are doing their job).
How many Nude-O-Scopes are there? Multiply that by 3 and that's how many more people need to be staffed... Ridiculous.
Dec 8, 2011, 5:14 pm
#7
Join Date: Nov 2009
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Lets create a facebook page called "TSA: Thousands Standing Around" - and invite all our friends etc to take photos and videos that show overstaffing (perhaps 6 TSA standing talking while only 1 x-ray line operates with more than 50 people in line - experienced recently in STL).
Dec 8, 2011, 6:20 pm
#8
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Sounds to me like the White House & Washington's notion 
of economic stimulus and job creation (keeping the unemployment figures low) is working 
with Thousands Standing Around with a badge & uniformed blue shirt while the federal deficits continue to sky rocket ....
OPM needs to follow the lead in the private sectors these days - workforce reductions a/k/a layoffs at TSA.
of economic stimulus and job creation (keeping the unemployment figures low) is working with Thousands Standing Around with a badge & uniformed blue shirt while the federal deficits continue to sky rocket .... OPM needs to follow the lead in the private sectors these days - workforce reductions a/k/a layoffs at TSA.
Dec 8, 2011, 6:57 pm
#9
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Well, if they're underworked, then TSA will simply create more crap for the travelers to deal with and assign the screeners to foist it upon us. Can you say "gate grope for every flight"?
Complaints that they're standing around will simply mean more hurdles for the traveler as agencies never really cut staff.
Complaints that they're standing around will simply mean more hurdles for the traveler as agencies never really cut staff.
Dec 8, 2011, 9:25 pm
#10
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Lets create a facebook page called "TSA: Thousands Standing Around" - and invite all our friends etc to take photos and videos that show overstaffing (perhaps 6 TSA standing talking while only 1 x-ray line operates with more than 50 people in line - experienced recently in STL).
Dec 8, 2011, 9:59 pm
#11
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Up in the air far too often.
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Lets create a facebook page called "TSA: Thousands Standing Around" - and invite all our friends etc to take photos and videos that show overstaffing (perhaps 6 TSA standing talking while only 1 x-ray line operates with more than 50 people in line - experienced recently in STL).
On Tuesday I was flying out early, early AM and was half-asleep going through security. One of the TSOs elbowed another and said "hey, hey, look at Charie" and pointed to the lady at the exit check, hunched forward, sound asleep. They both snickered and then one of them went over to wake her up.
The funny thing is I don't care; if these guys' job was important, they wouldn't hire people with zero qualifications off pizza boxes.
Websites like that often run out of steam though. This one was good, but hasn't been updated in months.
http://thedailypatdown.com/
Dec 9, 2011, 4:10 am
#12
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Last week on one of my late flights back home I saw exit gate guy (the one who checks for no reentry) completely asleep, so paused halfway through and picked up my phone
.........
On Tuesday I was flying out early, early AM and was half-asleep going through security. One of the TSOs elbowed another and said "hey, hey, look at Charie" and pointed to the lady at the exit check, hunched forward, sound asleep. They both snickered and then one of them went over to wake her up.
The funny thing is I don't care; if these guys' job was important, they wouldn't hire people with zero qualifications off pizza boxes.
.........
On Tuesday I was flying out early, early AM and was half-asleep going through security. One of the TSOs elbowed another and said "hey, hey, look at Charie" and pointed to the lady at the exit check, hunched forward, sound asleep. They both snickered and then one of them went over to wake her up.
The funny thing is I don't care; if these guys' job was important, they wouldn't hire people with zero qualifications off pizza boxes.
Dec 9, 2011, 5:32 am
#13
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Western PA
Programs: ExPlAAt; United 1K
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Well, if they're underworked, then TSA will simply create more crap for the travelers to deal with and assign the screeners to foist it upon us. Can you say "gate grope for every flight"?
Complaints that they're standing around will simply mean more hurdles for the traveler as agencies never really cut staff.
Complaints that they're standing around will simply mean more hurdles for the traveler as agencies never really cut staff.
Dec 9, 2011, 6:47 am
#14
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Last week on one of my late flights back home I saw exit gate guy (the one who checks for no reentry) completely asleep, so paused halfway through and picked up my phone (damn slow iPhone power-up sequence) and was about to snap his picture, but he had stirred and opened his eyes by the time the phone powered up. I just kept walking forward because I knew if he saw me standing there as he awoke he might have called for a termina dump. Shoulda powered it up when I landed haha, would have a nice pic.
Or just sneak up on him and shout "Wake up!!" in his ear. Wait for the excuse that he was just suffocating a bug in his eye.
Dec 9, 2011, 7:56 am
#15
Join Date: Nov 2010
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You could also try this - be very quiet so you don't wake him until you're right next to him. Have your phone in hand, pretending to talk to someone. Shout to the imaginary caller when right next to the sleeping TSAer.
Or just sneak up on him and shout "Wake up!!" in his ear. Wait for the excuse that he was just suffocating a bug in his eye.
Or just sneak up on him and shout "Wake up!!" in his ear. Wait for the excuse that he was just suffocating a bug in his eye.
I also have a primarily audio recording of a pilot going on a SWA type rant in a tram taking us to terminal, I was the only passenger on the tram with a bunch of crew, again, last flight of the day. I got a few shots of his face but I don't know who it was. It was height of unprofessionalism. Yuck. But, hey, I forgive the person, they were just probably blowing off steam. In a sense I feel a bit privileged to know what they really think about their job and politics, etc, but he was totally out of line.
I've thought about posting some of them, but decided against it, partly because the agents are easily identifiable. In one case I'm pretty sure they would come after me too, as I was identified as recording and yelled at by the screener as I got out of there. It's also kind of obnoxious to record like this, and quasi-legal.
The funny thing is, I don't necessarily want TSA screeners to get fired for sleeping, etc. As evidenced by some of the TSA agents who post here (and if you have had a conversation with any of them), they are generally not the brightest bulbs, and the change must come from above, not from the agents themselves. For all practical purposes there are an infinite supply of low qualified screeners, so when you fire one, you just get another who is marginally less qualified.
Moreover, I DON'T want the agents to take their job too seriously. Overzealous TSA agents = more harassment for innocent people. We should be encouraging CIVILITY and REASONABLENESS, not "HEROISM" by the TSA screeners. Imagine the most gung-ho TSA agent:
Ooh, that guy moved sideways to pick up his dropped wallet when exiting the terminal TERRORIST TERRORIST!!!
Oh no, I dozed off for 10 seconds can't be sure TERMINAL DUMP, TERMINAL DUMP!!!
Such an agent would probably get praised for his "honesty," "integrity," and "commitment to the job."
No thanks.