TSA slowdown / sickout
Jan 21, 2019, 5:03 pm
#211
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Lower paid Americans, especially male ones, tend to be less likely to have stable marital relationships and tend to be more likely to have lower paid spouses even when in stable marital relationships. The TSA workforce is at or near the bottom of the barrel in the federal government workforce so even the ones in ordinarily dual-income households are probably struggling financially in ways that aren’t applicable to most of the FT crowd.
No one forces anyone to work for TSA.
Jan 21, 2019, 7:16 pm
#212
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This article quotes an email TSOs received from their FSD:
Link: News10 San Diego - Union says TSA officers are quitting due to the government shutdown, Posted: 6:54 AM, Jan 09, 2019
In the email, Elam, the deputy federal security director overseeing Palm Springs, LAX and three other Los Angeles-area airports, acknowledged security staffing worries and warned of "disciplinary action" at Palm Springs airport.
"Management is appreciative and sensitive to the burden the ongoing government shutdown is placing on each one of you," Elam wrote. "You are an essential employee and you are required to report for work to carry out essential duties."
"Due to excessive unscheduled absences recently experienced at PSP (Palm Springs International airport) that has adversely impacted security operations, if you have an unscheduled absence, you will NOT be placed in an intermittent furlough status," Elam added. "Your unauthorized unscheduled absence will be coded by payroll as absent without leave (AWOL). At the conclusion of the government shutdown, an employee's AWOL status may result in progressive disciplinary action."
"Management is appreciative and sensitive to the burden the ongoing government shutdown is placing on each one of you," Elam wrote. "You are an essential employee and you are required to report for work to carry out essential duties."
"Due to excessive unscheduled absences recently experienced at PSP (Palm Springs International airport) that has adversely impacted security operations, if you have an unscheduled absence, you will NOT be placed in an intermittent furlough status," Elam added. "Your unauthorized unscheduled absence will be coded by payroll as absent without leave (AWOL). At the conclusion of the government shutdown, an employee's AWOL status may result in progressive disciplinary action."
Jan 21, 2019, 8:17 pm
#213
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This article quotes an email TSOs received from their FSD:
Link: News10 San Diego - Union says TSA officers are quitting due to the government shutdown, Posted: 6:54 AM, Jan 09, 2019
Link: News10 San Diego - Union says TSA officers are quitting due to the government shutdown, Posted: 6:54 AM, Jan 09, 2019
Jan 21, 2019, 10:18 pm
#214
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I think TSA is going to learn that having a bunch of spokespeople may not be such a great idea. One voice even if the news is bad.
Jan 21, 2019, 10:56 pm
#215
Join Date: Sep 2013
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So, the only private sector employees who will not be paid at all during the shutdown are those who a) work for a company that was issued a stop work order, AND b) work for a company that didn't keep them working on other projects during the shutdown (such as companies who foolishly built their entire customer base on a single client).
Jan 21, 2019, 11:19 pm
#216
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Well I mean that seems like an universal fact: that no one forces anyone to work their job against their will.
I think it's still very reasonable to sympathize with a large amount of workforce that has been basically demanded to be working without pay.
I mean how would FTers feel if they were told by their managers that they had to work but their pay would be suspended indefinitely....tough situation for everyone...the TSA workers, travelers, etc.
Not to mention TSA agents are probably as glamorized as IRS agents in terms of public respect/admiration...but they are much more publically viewable than the tax collectors.
I think it's still very reasonable to sympathize with a large amount of workforce that has been basically demanded to be working without pay.
I mean how would FTers feel if they were told by their managers that they had to work but their pay would be suspended indefinitely....tough situation for everyone...the TSA workers, travelers, etc.
Not to mention TSA agents are probably as glamorized as IRS agents in terms of public respect/admiration...but they are much more publically viewable than the tax collectors.
Jan 21, 2019, 11:20 pm
#217
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Jan 22, 2019, 5:07 am
#218
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I think the veteran population would depend on location. We love Florida so there is no shortage here. Veterans, to include former Law Enforcement and Firefighters will tow the line till the end. We have dealt with crappy situations before and will embrace the suck again.
Jan 22, 2019, 5:55 am
#220
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Allegedly, TSA has only one official spokesperson during the shutdown, Michael Bilello. However, as Chollie mentioned, there's TSA and then there is the union, who as usual are at odds with each other.
Jan 22, 2019, 7:06 am
#222
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Seems I have seen some quotes of FSD's and AFSD's in the news. They may be authorized to speak but sometimes its better, in my opinion, to have one central media outlet. I think this is one of those times for TSA.
Last edited by Boggie Dog; Jan 22, 2019 at 7:21 am
Jan 22, 2019, 8:12 am
#223
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I think the veteran population would depend on location. We love Florida so there is no shortage here. Veterans, to include former Law Enforcement and Firefighters will tow the line till the end. We have dealt with crappy situations before and will embrace the suck again.
One question I have for TSAdude if they see this post is what is TSA’s policy on sick leave? OPM leaves it up to the different agencies to set their own policies so not every agency is the same. Generally for Army civil servants you can take up to three consecutive days of paid sick leave without a doctor’s note. Does TSA have a similar policy?
Jan 22, 2019, 11:39 am
#224
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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.
Jan 22, 2019, 7:12 pm
#225
Join Date: May 2015
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While this article is about the IRS, it rings true for TSA employees.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...=.f12b639a504c
For the major airports, I would wager a vast majority of TSA employees arrive by public transport. That means on Feb 1 they will be expected to put down $100-$200 cash for a bus or train pass for the month. Most of these folks are commuting for "free" because they bought a January pass in December, when they expected the shutdown to end quickly.
If the shutdown continues until February, I expect to see a big spike in call-outs at airports like Newark, JFK, Logan, etc
“I’m at the point where I cannot afford to go to work,” said Marissa Scott, 31, an IRS customer service representative who is out on hardship leave. Scott lives outside Kansas City, Mo., and drives 98 miles round trip to work each day. “I cannot afford to fill my gas tank.”
In Andover, Mass., more than 100 customer service representatives, electronic filing workers and other IRS employees plan to use the hardship exemption and won’t report to work, said Gary Karibian, chapter president of a local union.“I would say a majority of employees are calling out under hardship,” Karibian said. “I’m getting reports whole teams are requesting out. One person told me, ‘I’m the only one on my team here.’ ”
For the major airports, I would wager a vast majority of TSA employees arrive by public transport. That means on Feb 1 they will be expected to put down $100-$200 cash for a bus or train pass for the month. Most of these folks are commuting for "free" because they bought a January pass in December, when they expected the shutdown to end quickly.
If the shutdown continues until February, I expect to see a big spike in call-outs at airports like Newark, JFK, Logan, etc