Spiff

WNBC4 News Article

"At least nine security screeners have been removed from their posts at Newark Liberty International Airport after failing two proficiency tests, according to a published report.

The workers were placed on administrative leave and could be dismissed, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported in Tuesday's editions.

The action by the federal Transportation Security Administration was the result of an annual evaluation of passenger checkpoint and baggage screeners. The TSA is conducting the tests nationwide. They are designed to assess workers' abilities to detect weapons and explosives."

Looks like these guys should have spent more time paying attention to the x-ray training and less time on Shoe Harassment detail...

"Smithers, fire that man!" - C.M. Burns

TSAJohn

The testing is getting tougher and I'm glad. Know your job or move on. Good riddance...

TSASCRNR

That is still wrong thought, if you are not proficient enough for passenger(since its soooooo damn hard to remember day to day SOP changes), then place them in baggage until they further get trained and get re-evaluated.

So now that 9 screeners who had some experience in what they were doing, and knew their way around but probably failed one part in the passenger/baggage re-certification... now your gonna hire NEW guys who dont know ANYTHING and have to be OJT'd and take up the other screeners time being watched and "shown the ropes".

It is NOT good riddance.

Also this is not new, maybe the first time made public, but definantly not new. Fail a couple times and your out.

Spiff

I think it's great!

All are warned: one's time is better spent learning to use the x-ray to look for credible threats rather than harassing passengers as a Trained Shoe Appraiser. ^

If one wants to "profile" shoes, work at Shoe Carnival, not the TSA.

tsadude

That's OK, keep your sluggo checkpoint screeners.

jan_az

Well you know in most jobs if you fail a couple of times you are out - for some reason you think that TSA employees should be exempt from general good management principles?

TSASCRNR

No, I am not saying that.

SOP's change often, and when you are taught to do things one way in week 1, week 2 you take the exam and are un-aware of the changes.

You cant know the SOP 110% in a week.

Decomposing Screener

Especially since we are not allowed to have a copy of it. Or how they will knock you for not following the procedure exactly down to the letter. As long as your covering everything I fail to see what the problem is but that's the great flexibility of some of the powers that be.

Spiff

It also sounds like there are too many stupid, non-public SOPs as well...

Spiff

New York Post Article

"The federal government will soon fire nine baggage screeners at Newark Airport for failing their annual recertification — but the numbers may be much higher when the final hammer comes down."

Excellent. Rightsizing and clearing out incompetence at the same time. If only such rightsizing could be applied to the criminally negligent leaders of the TSA. I'd like to see Admiral Stone tossed out the door... without it being opened first.

hvd

In doing a search of Smithers here I came up with this thread. Interestingly, I was checking to see if anyone had reported on the singularly intense preboard search done at the Smithers airport. Certainly the woman who was apparently running the sometimes amusingly over the top search is a prime candidate to run security for any facility, anywhere, that wants to look like it is getting the job done.

eyecue

What is the RIGHT SIZE???

Spiff

The number of employees would be sufficient to do the job without harassing the passengers. That number is less than the current number.

doctall41

You're assuming alot in your post:
1. that they only failed in one part of the re-certification;
2. that they were good, hard, diligent workers;
3. that they are better at their job than any of the NEW guys who will replace them can be;
4. that the NEW guys don't know anything about airport security, or security in general;

You know, there is always someone better out there for any job... "new" doesn't have to mean "worse"