jkhuggins

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. ---Margaret Mead

And with that, I'll retire from the slogan-fest.

bdschobel

I agree. That's why I continue to tilt at the windmill called the TSA. Many people (even in my family) think that I'm nuts to fight the TSA as hard as I do. They think that it will never change and that I'm wasting my time and energy. But I continue fighting because I believe that "thoughtful, committed citizens" like myself will eventually win.

Bruce

ScatterX

My post was a sarcastic way of saying that decent people should not try to get in at the ground level of TSA with the hope of changing this disgusting agency.

It shouldn't be this way, but low level schmucks INSIDE huge tyrannical unaccountable government organizations get crushed/lose their job ten thousand times for every one that is successful making meaningful change.

The posts quoted above are different than the original point. I agree that CITIZENS (that are, for all practical purposes, OUTSIDE the system) can do much more to compel change.

bdschobel

Absolutely right. An entry-level clerk in a huge government agency of more than 60,000 employees can do essentially nothing to change the system. They can't even go on strike! It's illegal. People like us, outside the system, have a much better chance of changing it.

Bruce

jkhuggins

I'm not sure there's any way to judge those chances --- given how little change we've seen in TSA initiated from either inside or outside.

In that case, I'm all for trying anything that'll make a change, inside or outside. But on that point, reasonable people can disagree.

Spiff

In 10 years, the TSA has become progressively worse. So much for change from within. Time for change or eradication from without.

rodsren

This does not surprise me at all.

goalie

Inexcusable! But then again, so is the TSA as an entire entity

jkhuggins

Which will require an act of Congress. And TSA has a perfect record in defeating any act of Congress that would restrict TSA in any manner.

I think either way is unlikely --- which means we ought to be trying both, in case one of them just happens to beat the odds.

Spiff

Wish in one hand...

This agency is a cancer. It will never reform itself from within.

Hopefully, Congress will eradicate it.

ScatterX

The one thing Congress-critters do well is spend money to pander to a cowardly public that is far to eager to give up liberty, dignity, and money for the false illusion of security. The public, on average, not only puts up with this crap, but a vast majority believes in and actively desires ANYTHING for security. As long as the sheep are eager, the government will continue to build their empire and expand their power, regardless of the abuse.

I agree in theory. In practice, insiders get crushed and have their lives ruined for exposing corruption. This keeps good people from speaking up.

Government oversight is a joke too. The GAO could directly investigate the necessity and effectiveness of TSA's actions. They don't. Why? Because they are insiders and this type of investigation would implicate/embarrass their congressional masters. It's better to investigate the low-level pukes. That way, TSA gets MORE MONEY to fix the problems.

mikeef

Yeah, right. Congresscritters do what they need to do to get elected. No one wants to be the one who voted for the elimination of the TSA right before another terrorist attack, even if the former has nothing to do with the latter.

There's exactly one party that can make a difference: the airlines. We would need a significant boycott of the airlines, enough to cause them serious financial distress, before they got involved. Good luck with that, as well.

You've said it before and I agree: the only sane policy is privatizing the airports and the security therein.

Mike

TheRoadie

Aug. 9, 2013

AFGE Blasts False Hype on GAO Report on TSA Misconduct

AFGE criticized TSA critics on Capitol Hill for trying to sensationalize the findings of a new GAO report, which found that only a tiny fraction of the huge workforce was involved in any misconduct during 2010-2012.

TSA has 56,000 employees, and only 1.15% of the entire workforce were involved in any misconduct related to security on an annual basis during the three years covered by the GAO report. The report’s main recommendation is simply that TSA do a better job of bookkeeping with respect to its records of employee misconduct.

“In an agency with a workforce the size of a small city, spread out over more than 400 airports, misconduct numbers this small indicate success, not failure,” said AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. “No one condones any misconduct and TSA is diligent in investigating allegations that range from being a few minutes late to work to violating security protocol. Thanks to our union, the agency is required to evaluate evidence when charges of misconduct are made, and when the facts warrant discipline, tailor the punishment to the offense. Efforts to sensationalize these kinds of routine management functions in order to make the case for the return of the failed, for-profit model of airport screening are appalling and irresponsible."

The report was requested by Rep. John Mica of Florida, who has been urging every airport to hand over its screening function to for-profit security companies just like it used to be pre-9/11.

Integrity: My Perspective
By Hydrick Thomas
AFGE Council 100 President

Every TSA officer is under constant scrutiny. We are a highly-visible front line workforce in a highly-visible agency. Our security mission is of the utmost importance for safeguarding air travel but, of course, it’s also controversial with some people. People with an agenda who want to discredit the agency pounce every time there is a misstep or a mishandled incident, criticizing our officers as a way to undermine TSA itself.

The recent GAO report about employee “misconduct” at TSA is just the latest example. The numbers in the report show that about 99% of the employees are not involved in any misconduct that is even technically related to a security issue in a given year. But, the media and our critics in Washington will always focus on that small percentage who do violate the rules. That small percentage of our co-workers gives us all a black eye whenever they violate the rules, so every officer has a stake in changing that perception.

Against that backdrop, our own personal integrity takes on great importance. From how we interact with passengers to how we handle their bags, from how we conduct ourselves in the airport to the way we do even routine parts of our job – it all goes into the picture we paint of ourselves as individuals and all of us together as a work force.

I know this can be frustrating. It only takes one negative incident to set off waves of criticism in the media and on the Internet. Our critics will ignore hundreds of incidents where we’ve prevented a security breach and focus on the one incident where someone makes a mistake. To overcome those negative perceptions we need to conduct ourselves as professionals and follow the SOP every day.

To me, integrity means taking pride in our work and following the rules. When I go around the country in my role as union council president, local members are often surprised if I notice, for example, something being done improperly at a checkpoint. I speak up, and I encourage the officer involved to get it right. Some people say “But you’re with the union . . .” My response is that there’s nothing about the union that means you shouldn’t do your job. In fact, the union promotes integrity because we know that when one officer violates the rules it has an impact on all of us. If one officer steals a passenger’s belongings the public looks at all of us as thieves.

Now, this isn’t just a one-way street. Supervisors, managers and other management employees have the same responsibility to act with integrity, and to be held accountable when they don’t. The union has spoken up, and will continue to speak up, when we see managers who do not live up to the same standards of integrity that they expect from the officers.

Bottom line: be the officer that your colleagues would be proud to work with. Do it because you have personal integrity, not just because someone issued a directive. Do it because you take pride in your job, and you take pride in our role in the important mission of transportation security.

AFGE’s Recent Legal Victories

Removal Reduced to 7-Day Suspension at LAX

A TSO from Los Angeles International Airport was removed and charged with failure to follow proper screening procedure, inappropriate conduct, and lack of candor. The charges stemmed from an isolated incident where the TSO, working in the baggage imaging room, misclassified a baggage item. An attorney from AFGE’s Office of the General Counsel appealed the employee’s removal and argued management failed to prove the charges, especially the claim that the TSO was not forthright during the fact finding investigation and lacked candor.

The Office of Professional Responsibility Appellate Board (OPRAB) sustained the first and second charges, but did not sustain the more serious charge of lack of candor, finding that her statements in the investigation did not rise to the level of lack of candor. The removal was mitigated to a seven-day suspension.

Removal Reduced to 14-Day Suspension at EWR

A Lead Transportation Security Officer from Newark Liberty International Airport was removed and charged with conducting improper screening procedures. The removal was issued due to an airport wide TSA Office of Inspections (OOI) investigation that found employees in a specific baggage room were conducting screening procedures not in accordance with the current Screening Operating Procedures (SOP). An attorney from AFGE's Office of the General Counsel argued the LTSO conducted the screening in the manner his supervisors advised him and that any improper screening was done so unintentionally. AFGE also argued the LTSO was honest during the entire investigation and never mislead the OOI. The OPRAB sustained the charge, but found that the LTSO’s SOP violation was unintentional. The removal was mitigated to a fourteen-day suspension.

JObeth66

And the millions upon millions of passengers going through TSA security checkpoints in a given year - what do the records show for # of them who have anything to do with banned WEI? Yet EVERY passenger must be treated as a threat, and every passenger is treated as a second-class citizen, even though only a small percentage have violated WEI rules, and an even smaller percentage have been involved in any security breaches that even /technically/ could be related to "terrorism threats", yet all passengers are treated as criminals by the TSA clerks in our employ, and the TSA management focuses on that small percentage that violates the rules, when they even know what the rules are (consistent inconsistency).

Guilty until proven innocent is the standard the TSA has set for passengers. Sticks in their craw when the shoe is on the other foot, doesn't it.

PTravel

"The numbers in the report show that about 99% of the employees are not involved in any misconduct that is even technically related to a security issue in a given year."

What the hell does that mean? Is sleeping on the job a security issue? Is harassing passengers in violation of SOP a security issue? Is theft from passengers a security issue? However showing up late and leaving early? How about texting while at work?

It sounds like the union is focused solely on things like failing to screen, improperly screening, etc. Given that very, very little that TSA does is actually related to security, I'm sure the 99% don't commit violations "technically related to security" is correct. And it's pure BS.