You figured me out!
 

I am actually a very cival person with a devious streak here. I don't care for the TSA anymore than you do. The organization as a whole treats its people like crap. This was actually my first job after military retirement and it has taken me a while to become "civilian" even though deep down I will always be a "soldier". Many thousands in the TSA are former military and some are in the reserves. We have had discussions amongst ourselves (TSA) about why there is so much termoil amongst passengers and screeners. I believe that when you have been in the military it conditions you to follow rules and regulations. Two different attitudes collide often at the checkpoint, those that want you to follow directions and those who don't want to be told what to do. Are there dirtbag screeners, plenty. Are there passengers who think that their crap doesn't stink? Plenty. Ugly collisions.I am currently preparing for another vocation, this job has so many negative feelings and attitudes on both sides it will never change. I don't need the hassle, better thing to do. :cool:

This is really starting to be a trend. Nearly every screener who lands here ends up quitting the TSA.

There are plenty who want to quit the TSA,but many are waiting for other jobs to open. The TSA has already started to re-hire the dirtbags we got rid of in the first RIF. Get ready for some real stupid antics at the checkpoints. :(

It wasn't too hard to figure you out after 30 years of working with people, but then neither of us tried too hard ...

I believe that you are correct. If the TSA is full of people who made a contract for "3 hots and a cot" and blind obedience in exchange for education, relief from personal responsibility or love of country and desire to serve (wonder what the ratios are ???), then it is no wonder that there are collisions with people who are entreprenurial, self-directed, professional and responsible for decisions every moment of everyday, including making up or negotiating the rules in many situations. Many of these same folks are under stress from travel and work and schedules, etc. No doubt many have an inflated idea of their own importance, too ... for some it is the only way to live on that kind of edge.

I sit beside them all the time.

Bad mix.

Still, my friend, because many people did give up their right to dignity and personal privacy is no reason to mock GradGirl or others ( I too had my genitals touched) when they are intruded upon. It has been a quick transition from freedom to travel to "I might touch your genitals, and get over it." Nor is there a good enough reason for it, IMO.

Glad you are getting out. Chance are you will be replaced by someone who does not know what kind of crap they are getting into. It is a thankless job, and perhaps ought to be.

I wouldn't bet on that. We've lost a total of about 8 screeners so far on my checkpoint shift and haven't had a single one replaced as of yet. And we've lost 36 total and none have been replaced. How that interpts to daily staffing is on average we open up the checkpoint with about 9 screeners for three lanes.

Now we have one person leaving for good next week, me leaving in about two or three months. About 7 waiting on background checks for other jobs. There is no talk about replacing any of these screeners at all.


So maybe CameraGuys wish is finally coming true and staffing at TSA is being cut but without having to pay unemployment?

Teacher,
There's an arrogance reflected in your "blind obedience" comment that tends to categorize all TSA employees as uneducated, unmotivated and power-hungry bullies who wouldn't qualify for any other means of employment or lack the drive to be self-employed. I think that's an unfair stereotype of TSA employees. Many people joined TSA out of a sense of patriotism and duty in response to the horrors of 9/11. There are many in the screener workforce who have bachelors and masters degrees, and I know of two screeners at my checkpoint who have their doctorates. TSA emphasizes that its screeners be courteous and professional at all times, regardless of how unpleasant the circumstances. Nonetheless, in a huge bureaucracy like TSA, there is going to exist a percentage of employees who either ignore the TSA standard or who have otherwise successfully survived the RIFs, performance evaluations and other measures designed to weed out undesirables. It would be foolish to think this minority represents the TSA just as it would for me to believe all passengers are rude morons just because a few of them took out their frustrations on us because they had to undergo secondary screening.

As I'm sure you can figure out, whenever procedures have to be applied across a very broad spectrum, standardization is required to ensure uniformity, meet legal requirements and maintain effectiveness. This is what the SOP is designed to do. Is it the most effective set of procedures around? No. Can it be improved? Certainly. Are we standardized across the nation? No. Are TSA screeners frustrated by these inconsistencies? Of course, we are. Is it "blind obedience?" Not at all.

Like tsadude, I am also retired military. I was an officer and held four commands during my career among the myriad of responsibilities and duties assigned to officers. At any given time during my military career, I was always responsible for millions of dollars worth of equipment as well as the lives of the soldiers entrusted to my care and leadership. I've made REAL decisions that involved REAL stress. I joined TSA out of a sense of continuing my service to the nation in a different capacity. And while I have no doubt I could find a better-paying job and not have to put up with unpleasant people who sometimes come through my checkpoint, I really enjoy working as a screener.

I am frustrated, however, that TSA has yet to meet its internal goals as far as managing screeners more competently, standardizing procedures across the board, improving technologies to detect dangerous materials and training screeners more effectively. And there are a few personalities within my chain of command that, in my opinion as a retired military officer, have no business supervising/managing employees. I challenge you to point out any organization that doesn't have similar issues.

What will help improve TSA is YOUR customer feedback. I'm not promising any overnight corrections; after all, TSA is a typical federal bureaucracy that moves slowly just as any other government agency. However, the mechanism is in place to receive and respond to customer input. I encourage you and others to provide your feedback. I'm interested in providing you with effective yet smart security screening. I'm chagrined whenever I see that a 75 year old man with a walker was computer-selected for secondary screening, so I'm interested in seeing improvements as well. I participate in these boards to share my knowledge with travelers to help clarify security screening issues (without violating SSI) as well as to ascertain certain passenger concerns so that I can improve screening procedures at my checkpoint. Of course, there are certain message board members who have no interest in meaningful exchanges and only seek to trash TSA at every turn. I am hoping you are not one of them.

Please tell me you are not seriously considering this. Are you that selfish that you think you have the right to delay thousands of other people and cause millions in buisness losses? As somebody who used to be in emergency services, let me tell you that your idea puts lives at risk. Every time an officer, EMS, fire, throws on the red lights and siren they have to take a big risk. Most people do not know how to react to an emergency vehicle and sometimes this leads to traffic accidents and injuries, even death. How would you feel if some 90 year old grandma on the way to the grocery store got killed because you caused a false alarm in the airport?

I have never had a bad experience with the TSA, and if I did I would start protesting through legal channels. Write letters to your congressman, senator, mayor, the head of the TSA, whoever. Ask to speak to a supervisor. Don't just take the law into your own hands because you believe you are better than everybody else.

Bring Back the 60's!
 

GG,

I'm with you. However, I see some differences between Vietnam-era protests and a civil disobedience act (or acts) against the TSA that would lessen their impact. Here's a few reasons that come to mind:
So, how do we do it today? My recommendations are to start with indidivual screeners. Granted, most of us have to win an Academy Award to turn on the in-your-face stuff at checkpoints, but we need to start sending the message from the bottom up that some of us -- who vote -- have had it with this charade. The obvious "symbol" of the TSA is the screener. That goes with the territory. I was on a college campus during Vietnam in ROTC, no less, and I know first-hand about being a "symbol."

For more organized protests, I like the idea of the "nude-in." We'd need some intel, but it would be great to have enough warning and inside info to plan it when a TSA or DHS "heavy" is visiting an airport -- probab ly one of the DC-area ones. Another possibility would be "Orange Jumpsuit Day" where as many people as possible would show up at the same time wearing prison jumpsuits.

We would either have to tip off the media or assign someone to videotape the event and hope that a TV news outlet would show it.

My comment was conditional. Isaid "If the TSA is full of people who..."
My comments were in direct response to a screener who said that he was getting out and that in his estimation, there were many people in the category I described. If you look back, you will see that. So you might want to hold of a bit with labeling me.

I understand that there is no uniformity among people in uniform. Some put one on out a sense of service and duty that I admire as one who has also not chase the buck but sought to serve in my own career. Still, in your own words ........

As a "customer" I am frustrated, too, when I encounter someone as you describe above. I am aghast at the level of requirement for employment. It is all very well to have some well-educated and well-trained people, but when is seems that a substantial percentage are working above their capacity or are poorly trained or are badly supervised ... especially when all three of these things come togehter ... well it leaves an impression.

I take each contact with each person I meet as an individual experience. So, no, while I think the mission of the TSA itself is terribly misdirected, I do not take this out on the front line personnel.

A simultanous concerted action might be tough to stage. But sequential concerted action is another story. Remember streaking?

Individual personalized creative civil disobedience, such as the sweater-and-purple-bra or trench-coat-and-orange-speedo techniques, or just sweater or trench coat with nothing so flashy underneath, in a manner of speaking, :eek: has the advantage of being able to be done regardless of people's schedules.

And if enough purple-bra and orange-speedo (do they sell those at K-Mart?) stories begin popping up all over the country, it might get some press coverage.

If course, its success depends on TSA actually overreaching in telling you to remove the sweater or trench coat. But this is a real problem we are facing, isn't it?

Someone needs to take their own advice. :mad:

Touch a nerve ? :p

:D :D :D :D :rolleyes:

Just a second, I'm calibrating my BS detector....
Ok, now what were you saying?

No. I'm giving advice. You should take a hike. Take a long trip. See the world. Travel expands ones perspective. Myopic views often change after meeting a different culture on it's own ground.
As a destination, I would recommend Russia. It's lovely this time of year. And they have so much history there. One can really learn about the consequences of totalitarianism.