chollie

No, that's not the problem.

As many of us have pointed out, on this forum and elsewhere, poor and unprofessional behavior at the checkpoint has nothing to do with pay scales. Such behavior is not tolerated in a well-run fast-food joint.*

Additionally, any number of TSOs have posted on this forum and elsewhere about the high numbers of vets who work at TSA. Do they deliberately downgrade their performance or behave unprofessionally, ignoring their mission and abusing innocent pax, because they don't like the pay scale?

Ultimately, the problem has nothing to do with the pay scale and everything to do with underperforming, unprofessional or AWOL managers who are not doing their jobs (unlike actively involved, standard-setting and stand-enforcing managers at successful fast food joints and other lower paid positions). These managers are most certainly not underpaid, particularly when you take account of the fact that they have federal benefits, are not subject to routine layoffs - they are management, if they think the compensation package is too low, they'll easily move elsewhere in the federal system or go civilian.

The pay is more than appropriate for the duties required. You do not pay according to qualifications, you pay according to required job skills. Tub-stacking and hand-swabbing and sticking your hands in people's pants and directing traffic at a checkpoint are not highly skilled jobs. Nor is ID checking - bouncers and gate/checkpoint guards around the US do it every day for modest pay.

gegarrenton

Bouncers make way more than TSA officers.

chollie

Maybe in your area, not in mine. (Unless perhaps they work at a trendy upscale bar and take bribes to let people cut in line. There really aren't any places like that where I live).

Basic pay, no benefits (sick leave, federal pension, obvious career path to move up the ladder in the organization).

VelvetJones

It may not be tolerated, but you likely would get the same sort of behavior from your average burger flipper or ditch digger if they were allowed to abuse people and face almost no prospect of repercussions for doing so. A few arrests, prosecutions, and jail sentences would halt a lot of the abuses by the TSA. We just saw what happened in Denver a few weeks ago. No charges filled. I imagine this will only embolden them even more.

Himeno

Oh, you mean like an SSN?

WillCAD

Having a difficult job is no excuse for doing your job poorly.

"Difficult" includes being poorly paid and benefited.

If you are unable or unwilling to do do the job you were hired to do, in the manner defined by your employer, in exchange for the pay and benefits that you agreed to when you were hired, then you should be fired for poor job performance.

The fact that TSA does not fire or discipline those who perform badly is not indicative of poor pay. It's indicative of poor management. And the managers make a lot more than the rank-and-file TSOs, so they don't have the "I'm not making enough money to actually DO my job" excuse.

tom_MN

General response: I have had an unsavory TSA experience (SSSS in ABQ) but everywhere else I see professionalism and hard work. It's a crappy procedure to undergo frequently but that policy is out of the hands of TSA workers.

tom_MN

Additional response: There's no doubt all these jobs will be contracted out at some point and no longer be federal jobs, probably just a few years away. Then after that we will reminisce about the "good old days" when they were federal employees and spoke English.

chollie

?? I've encountered TSOs (some areas are worse than others) that spoke something more akin to ebonics than standard English. At other airports, it was clear that the TSO's first language was not English and I have struggled to understand on occasion.

Lots of us travel around the world, as I'm sure you do too. Across the board, I get treated more professionally outside the US than I do at home, no matter what the language barriers.

Keep your hands out of my pants and away from my crotch and don't behave like a bully and I don't care what language you speak.

jkhuggins

Actually, from what I've observed, people seem to have figured out that using the SSN as a universal identifier was a horrible idea, and have backed off. Anytime these days that I'm asked to supply my SSN, it's usually with a detailed explanation as to why they're using it and under what authority they're authorized to do so.

WilcoRoger

Is it considered rude to politely ask a TSO "Is there anybody speaking English here?"

greggarious

I had an immigration/customs officer in SFO who had such a thick Spanish accent I couldn't understand him at first... eventually I realized he was asking if I had a second form of ID. (My passport photo is pretty old, and I've lost weight and changed hair styles since then)

It wouldn't have been a big deal, but he was also kind of snippy that I couldn't understand him. I had just got back from Spain, and they were much nicer when I had to ask them to repeat themselves.

Yeah, I tend to be pretty open minded with regards to immigration policy, but it was extemely frustrating to be returning to the United States, and have someone who could not communicate effectively in my language manning the booth. He was also a low talker, which coupled with the thick Spanish accent made it impossible to understand what he was saying.

chollie

It's going to be kind of embarrassing if the TSO in question is speaking some kind of American.

AA_EXP09

Was this at MIA?
I think I may have seen him in the past...

FlyingHoustonian

There is a "White" guy at IAH CBP with a strong French accent (not sure if from France or Quebec or whatnot but very French) and it is very hard to understand him and he is famous amongst several local travellers for being an .... Lucky for me with GE I have not had to deal with him much but he is a "mid-rung" guy. So it is not just the Spanish accents. I've lived all over the world, speak a few different tongues, and even have family where is English is not a first tongue so I try to understand all and do an ok job, but I expect CBP to at least be able to be understood...and I do not mean by just speaking louder LOL