You're too professional, Ink, with standards like these, you're never going to get rich off TSA contracts. :p

Of course, the irony in all of this is that the TSA really WILL spend $50 million on knife guarges, when they could spend $50 on a few reams of paper and simply distribute a printable file with a drawing on it, and a colored rectangle 2.36"x1" against which a knife blade could be held. If any part of the blade sticks out of the rectangle, it's a no-go; so simple, even a cave-TSO could do it.

Oh, please! Don't you know that those sneaky tewwowists will steal the knife outline when somebody isn't looking and substitute one with a 3" knife? Then where will we be? Planes will be flying into buildings again, and our economy -- all of Western civilization, actually -- will collapse, just like it did in 2001. Remember? :)

Bruce

You're talking about the agency that couldn't figure out an expensive way to manufacture a one-page 'cheat sheet' of acceptable IDs (NEXUS included) to keep at the TDC podiums so they didn't have to call for a supervisor to locate the custom-produced, leather-bound, locking binder with the list of acceptable IDs.

Besides, they'd have to hire and train specialists to distribute the paper references to the checkpoints and someone would keep stealing them.....

I wonder if there was a TSA work action at SAN today? There was a post on the Southwest Airlines facebook page of someone stating the x-ray machines were not working and they everyone had to check their belongings. I mean seriously how could all the x-ray machines be down?

I think that there may be just one xray over in the Gate 1/2 corner. Would not take much for all of them to be down and it would cause an awful mess.

Bumping even thought the last post was mine.

During my inevitable bag check today, my checker said that I needed to start getting to the airport about two hours early. I asked what was the reason they were punishing us while knowing full well the answer. He said they were beginning furloughs and everyone was having to take a day a week off and they would be short of help.

Okay, that set me off, but I was on a short fuse today anyway.

I said that if it got rid of a few extra bodies and the wasted money it would be a small price to pay. I also said if I thought I could get rid of about half of the waste that was the TSA I would get there three hours early.

I looked up and there was a guy in line at the end of the conveyor laughing his butt off.

How dare him, on tax day no less. My income was down 2/3 last year and I have been using savings to get back in the swing of things and build a new customer base and he is crying to me about a day off a week? He should try 30 a month and not getting paid for 2.5 months of work while having to eat the travel expense because his primary customer declared bankruptcy.

I got a really good bag check, too.

Wow thats funny because everyone got an email weeks ago stating that TSA wasn't going to do furloughs.

In all honesty, he may not have said furloughs, it is just that is the way I understood it. As best as I can remember he said they were going to be taking extra days off and would be short-handed. I took that to mean furloughs. It could simply be the elimination of OT or a shortened work week.

Either way, if it stops a bit of the cash from being stuffed down a rat hole, I am for it.

I really am not real generous today.

That's part of an e-mail I got from Washington four days ago. Although they did kill all of the overtime, so we're going to be shorthanded if too many people take the day off.

What else did it say?

Then you do what every other company does and deny time off.

That may be an opportunity for managers to improve efficiency. The number of people who stand around doing absolutely nothing at TSA checkpoints is astounding. I've never seen that elsewhere. And the amount of goofing off is also an annoyance.

(I know, I know, I'm an optimist, but really any time like this should be an opportunity for managers to see where they can cut the fat and the waste and reallocate resources more effectively)

Not being an America, you probably don't shop in American WalMarts, K-Marts, or other such stores, or eat in our fast food restaurants, but the amount of goofing off and standing around that goes on in such places is very similar to that of the average airport. The behavior, comportment, professionalism, and communications skills, not to mention interpersonal skills, of the average TSO seems to be in line with that of the average minimum-wage person who works at one of those private venues.

Which only reinforces the impression that TSA is a giant jobs program for the uneducated and unskilled amongst us.

Now, there are good TSOs. There are smart, educated, professional TSOs who consientiously attempt to do the job with which they're entrusted - screening passengers for weapons, explosives, and incendiaries. I just wish they were not in the minority.

I may not be American, but I've spent many, many years working all over the US in various economic areas. I don't shop at Walmart (I did go into one a few times) and have been in KMart a few times (what is that smell particular to KMart it seems?!) I do shop at Target, chain office supply stores, etc quite regularly, and while I don't eat at McDonalds and prefer independent places do find myself at Starbucks and other mid-range American chains. Just needed to clarify that!

I do know that while in most of world airport screener is a profession, it isn't in America. But the behaviour is indicative of management, and if management is ok with people standing around, dancing, singing, pounding on the WTMD, making inane comments about passengers, staring into space, etc then it reflects on the management and the agency just as much as on the employees.

I've been to Burger King and similar in poorer states and while perhaps there such behaviour may be tolerated, it shouldn't be tolerated at TSA.

For instance, strikes I do know. Strikes are a great time for management to see how their organisation can be more efficient with fewer resources with the least amount of negative impact on the customer.

A good organisation and a good management team would use this opportunity to review staffing and efficiency and make the required changes.