TSA slowdown / sickout
Jan 4, 2019, 2:24 pm
#1
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TSA slowdown / sickout
There are multiple media reports that TSA airport workers are increasingly calling in sick due to the gov't shutdown which has them working without pay.
I'm particularly interested in JFK T8, but wonder if people are seeing security slowdowns at major airports.
I'm particularly interested in JFK T8, but wonder if people are seeing security slowdowns at major airports.
Jan 4, 2019, 2:25 pm
#2
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Since this isn't AA related, I'll move this over to the Travel Safety & Security forum. Thanks.
aztimm
aztimm
Jan 4, 2019, 2:30 pm
#3
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It's pretty hard to tell since travel is super light this week so I wouldn't expect to see any issues YET. I didn't fly through T8, but the TSA checkpoints I saw at both LGA and JFK over the past couple of days had extremely short lines.
Monday morning will probably provide the first real reports if there's problems.
Monday morning will probably provide the first real reports if there's problems.
Jan 4, 2019, 2:34 pm
#4
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At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, as many as 170 TSA employees have called out each day this week, Thomas tells CNN. Officers from a morning shift were required to work extra hours to cover the gaps.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/04/polit...ing/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/04/polit...ing/index.html
Jan 4, 2019, 3:20 pm
#6
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So much for a dedicated, professional workforce. In previous non-funded periods government employees have received all pay due for any work they performed during non-funded days. Calling out sick accomplishes nothing other than making the public more aware of how TSA screeners work. I wonder what AFGE's agreement between the government and TSA members says about work slowdowns and the like.
I fully realize that not getting a paycheck when expected makes life difficult. Just because a small part of the government isn't working doesn't mean bills are not coming due. Where I work we have already taken steps to assist any federal employees who need help.
I fully realize that not getting a paycheck when expected makes life difficult. Just because a small part of the government isn't working doesn't mean bills are not coming due. Where I work we have already taken steps to assist any federal employees who need help.
Jan 4, 2019, 3:28 pm
#7
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With the shift to the gig economy, I wonder whether some of them are working as Uber/Lyft drivers, dog walkers, etc. to make ends meet until they see their paychecks for the TSA "work" being done. It's obviously too late for the seasonal holiday temporary jobs. It can't be that they fear not ever being paid for the TSA "work" they're doing during this period. [In fact, IIRC during previous government shutdowns even the nonessential furloughed employees were paid for all the time they didn't work, although government contractors can lose out big time.]
Jan 4, 2019, 3:32 pm
#8
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With the shift to the gig economy, I wonder whether some of them are working as Uber/Lyft drivers, dog walkers, etc. to make ends meet until they see their paychecks for the TSA "work" being done. It's obviously too late for the seasonal holiday temporary jobs. It can't be that they fear not ever being paid for the TSA "work" they're doing during this period. [In fact, IIRC during previous government shutdowns even the nonessential furloughed employees were paid for all the time they didn't work, although government contractors can lose out big time.]
I thought 'essential' personnel weren't allowed to walk off the job - it's a firing offense to do so. Management ought to ask for doctor's slips or dock their pay for time missed.
Jan 4, 2019, 4:14 pm
#10
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So much for a dedicated, professional workforce. In previous non-funded periods government employees have received all pay due for any work they performed during non-funded days. Calling out sick accomplishes nothing other than making the public more aware of how TSA screeners work. I wonder what AFGE's agreement between the government and TSA members says about work slowdowns and the like.
I fully realize that not getting a paycheck when expected makes life difficult. Just because a small part of the government isn't working doesn't mean bills are not coming due. Where I work we have already taken steps to assist any federal employees who need help.
I fully realize that not getting a paycheck when expected makes life difficult. Just because a small part of the government isn't working doesn't mean bills are not coming due. Where I work we have already taken steps to assist any federal employees who need help.
This is probably because it's effectively excluded from bargaining by the ATSA which states "An individual that screens passengers or property, or both, at an airport under this section may not participate in a strike, or assert the right to strike, against the person (including a governmental entity) employing such individual to perform such screening," and I believe that DHS has previously asserted that this covers other collective job actions.
Jan 4, 2019, 4:56 pm
#12
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They have an important job and they are informed when they take the job that one of the 'conditions' of a critical national security job is that you can not strike, you can not leave the public at risk. Don't like it, go find a non-essential, non-national security-related job. There are many of them. This is not the first time we've had a shutdown and sadly, it probably won't be the last.
Jan 4, 2019, 5:07 pm
#13
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I flew back to the states yesterday in AA and went through immigration at JFK. I was quite surprised that they had only two cbp agents working all US passport holders - one handling global entry and the non flagged users of the kiosks, and one dealing with flagged users and mobile passport holders. Lines were quite long. I dont know if agents had called in sick, but the staffing was clearly very low.
Jan 4, 2019, 5:15 pm
#14
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So much for a dedicated, professional workforce. In previous non-funded periods government employees have received all pay due for any work they performed during non-funded days. Calling out sick accomplishes nothing other than making the public more aware of how TSA screeners work. I wonder what AFGE's agreement between the government and TSA members says about work slowdowns and the like.
I fully realize that not getting a paycheck when expected makes life difficult. Just because a small part of the government isn't working doesn't mean bills are not coming due. Where I work we have already taken steps to assist any federal employees who need help.
I fully realize that not getting a paycheck when expected makes life difficult. Just because a small part of the government isn't working doesn't mean bills are not coming due. Where I work we have already taken steps to assist any federal employees who need help.