MSY-MSP

Bart,

Thank-you for your comments. If I get a chance to come down to SAT I will buy you a drink for all of the sanity you bring to the screening world. It is only through screeners like yourself that we can identify those screeners who are way out to lunch. I am glad to know that this screener and supervisor were beyond what is acceptable. I am currious as to what you would do in the situation where the screener is blocking the WTMD and refusing to let you pass unless you comply with their "orders"? Are you between the proverbal rock and a hardplace? What is the correct procedure for the passenger at this point?

Once again thank-you for providing your comments and your insight on the entire process.

L-1011

I think that in this case the woodshed isn't enough. How about a lumber yard?

Doppy

Actually they can be fired on the spot because they don't have the fire-proof status that those in federal employees' unions do. One of the FSDs told me that he's done this before, if I understood him correctly.

Bart

First of all, you need to realize that a screener blocking the WTMD always gets my attention. If it's because the screener is waiting for a passenger to retrieve a boarding pass, then I'll inspect the BP myself if that's what it takes to allow the screener to immediately resume WTMD monitoring. However, in this scenario, it would go something like this:

Me: "What's the issue?"

Screener: "This passenger refuses to remove his shoes."

Me (turning to the closest available screener): "Tap out the walk-thru, please. (Then to the screener blocking the WTMD): "Come with me. I want to have a few words with you."

That's all you'd ever see as a passenger. I don't believe in embarrasing a screener in front of a passenger or other screener or anyone else for that matter. In all honesty, I don't anticipate this sort of scenario occuring at my checkpoint because I'm pretty clear on what I expect.

Superguy

I think you need to be a mystery shopper. Maybe that would help clean up the other checkpoints.

Bart

Not quite true. TSOs can't be fired arbitrarily; there has to be cause. However, it is true that we do not have the same protections as other federal employees.

It's been my experience that screeners are rarely fired. Instead, they essentially opt to resign rather than be fired. In many cases, these were wise alternatives. In other cases, management had a weak case but bluffed its way through with intimidation tactics to have the screener resign. In some cases, it's a matter of getting rid of a screener on a technicality. Some of these are deserved while others are cheap little stab-in-the-back stunts. (One of the things I refuse to do is volunteer for "collateral duties." Even though management tries to coax us with all sorts of incentives, including bonuses, my suspicious nature tells me that if I ever lost my certification while working in the office as some staff puke that I wouldn't receive any thanks for my contributions but would, instead, be kicked out into the street. Besides, I know, for example, that I could reorganize that poor excuse they call an operations center into an efficient operation; done it countless times during my military career under much more demanding circumstances. But the mercenary in me wants to be paid in real dollars for that talent; so I stick to the basic job of screening rather than volunteer for any other duties. Keeps things in very simple terms, and I like simple.)

MSY-MSP

Bart,

Thanks again on this.

However, I would like to know as a passenger what should we do when the screener is blocking the WTMD and the supervisor is basically backing him up. In this case the screener is physically refusing to allow you to pass until you comply with what ever "order" they are giving. (Such as this moron's socks are footwear, and must come off.)

mikeon

deleted

Lumpy

Bart? Zat YOU? You do not have the same protections as other federal employees? Wall, shucky dern, pard!

Your vict... I mean, CUSTOMERS... do not have the same protections as other American Citizens once they fling themselves upon the mercy of the airport screening system. They become Perditional Souls with NO rights at all, and are pretty vulnerable until they can escape the Staging Areas one way or another. They are Potential Criminals treated as Actual Criminals until their gyrations and facial expressions and feet can prove their innocence to their Little Centurions. At the very least they are Persons Of Interest.

TSA persists in referring to paxs as 'customers', of course. Goes down better if you say it right and try not to chew too much.

And in my H.O., TSO's have far MORE protections than other feds inasmuch as many TSA protectors and SOPs are SSI which are unassailable, as you well know.

See, there just ain't no right way to do the wrong thing.

DeafFlyer

When is someone going to stand there and say, "No. I will not remove my socks!" and just wait until they do something? What would have happened in that case? (Referring to the Sock story above.)

tuner

I have not posted in a long time but I still read them,every now and then. I read that people say my shoes did not alarm and are mad when asked to take them off and run them thru the x-ray. I may be wrong in this but I would think that about 90% of the airports have metal detectors, guess what they won't detect C4, or any other type of explosive materials. They only detect metal, I think that is why them call them metal detectors. There are only a few ways to find explosive materials. 1. view it on x-ray. 2. ETD the shoes. 3. Have the current method, of dogs sniff them. 4. Install the puffer machines there may be more. You can put enough C4 in the sole of a shoe to easily bring down a aircraft and mold it to fit your shoe. There are numerous item available that could be used to complete the process that won't be detected by a metal detector or you could have numerous people carry one item each. I think in a perfect world for security on aircraft they should only have 1 carry on item the size of a laptop bag, do full bag searches, and do full body pat downs, but that won't happen and this is not a perfect world. Passenger needs to demand that congress makes airports upgrade checkpoint to handle passenger flow and install better equipment.

Superguy

*sigh*

Please read this article.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...ities-business

Both TSA and the FBI said there hasn't even been an attempt at a shoe bombing since Richard Reid. What does that mean, they have found NOTHING in shoes.

If explosives are in both shoes, a screener couldn't tell that there an explosives in it.

The only real ways to detect explosives are the ETD and the puffers. Just do either of those and you eliminate the possiblity of pax bringing explosives on planes. And it's not like they couldn't bring explosives on elsewhere.

On top of that, cargo isn't really screened, so all I have to do is express mail explosives with an altitude detonator and the plane goes boom. That's a much more credible threat, yet TSA is busy with the great sharp and pointy object search and it's shoe fetish.

Super

Confederate Hokie

I purchased some medical, disposable shoe covers that I plan to carry in my laptop case so when I remove my shoes, I can put a pair of these on until I get to the other side. They're made of Tyvek so they shouldn't set off any alarms, bells or whistles.

This should work ok, right? I haven't used them yet, but it seemed like a good cheap plan.

tuner

Pretty much confirmed my point. As far a cargo not much of a headline in killing thousands of boxes.

ND Sol

There is much more than just passengers' checked bags that fly in the cargo hold below you.