THE FINAL STRAW

The Final Straw


Some screeners said they are starting to look for new employment, given past problems they've experienced with the agency as well as recent troubles with the training recertification program.

At a House hearing last week, Cathleen Berrick, director of GAO's homeland security and justice division, said turnover at TSA averages 14 percent annually, but ranges as high as 36 percent at some large airports. She said low pay and bad hours are reasons the agency has been unable to keep part-time workers. She added that recent interviews revealed 11 of the 15 busiest airports do not have enough screeners.

"TSA continues to struggle to maintain an adequate number of screeners at airport checkpoints, and has not yet achieved a stable screener workforce," she said. Berrick added that TSA's hiring process "has hindered the ability of some [federal security directors] to adequately staff passenger and baggage screening checkpoints. Several FSDs we interviewed expressed concern that TSA's hiring process was not responsive to their needs, and wanted to have more input in the hiring process. These FSDs faced screener shortages that hindered their screening capability."

Clawson, who once qualified to be a screening supervisor, said she is seriously considering looking for a new job. She and her co-workers are frustrated, angry and becoming indifferent toward the problems at their airport.

"I will tell you that when I leave here I will not fly again until something is fixed," she said. "I want somebody held accountable for what's going on. The only reason I took this job is because I thought it was going to be different from other government agencies and I thought that we would have a government agency that would be accountable and responsible, and that hasn't happened."

HALLELUJAH!!!
In a short format, I couldn't even begin to outline some of the irregularities at this location. 'Unfair' practices; not to mention the legality of many; including not making FMLA available to screeners on a recurring basis. (The HR rep. didn't even know it existed until OPM was contacted in one instance.)

- HELP US - If any group of people needed protection from a group of egotisical people that don't have a clue about the 'hows' and 'whys' of people management, WE DO! AND... airport security? That's a whole new ball-game. The level is fast declining, simply because of moral! God bless and good luck. -- M

airport screener
Transportation Security Administration
Colorado Springs

AND STILL MORE LETTERS FROM SCREENERS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY........
TSA HQ's excuse is typical...TSA claims only a troubled or previously fired employee files complaints, never one that did their job right. With TSA HQs willing to violate its own employee salary determining hiring policies, signed job contracts offering higher salaries to previous screeners and ignore officials like, Kennedy, Kerry and Markey join their own high level TSA managers to decry such unfairness...it's time for serious change.

TSA cannot be trusted to resolve internal employee concerns because it doesn't want to solve them. TSA management firmly believes that they are better than any whom work below them. If they did care, we wouldn't have had to file one law suit after another against them just to get them to do the right and just thing.

TSA screeners need to Band together and go to the Media, problem is everyone is complaining but no one is doing anything about it. Usually when things in a company get globally this bad people strike, but since TSA cant strike, take it to the media, then march on CONGRESS AND MAKE THEM LISTEN! VOICES ARE HEARD EVEN IN SMALL NUMBERS. I think if we even get one person from each airport to go to DC and force Congress to listen to us it would be worth it. Call 20/20 or what ever news media and put it out there, create public outrage. Gain the interest and the outrage of the public, change the minds of the politicians.

TSA Takes Incompetence International

The TSA's security at US airports has now reached a level roughly equivalent to that of a Midwestern bowling alley.

Not deterred by such success, the TSA is traversing the globe to show all them there furriners how to do it just as well as we do. This past week, they had a team touring terminals in Cairo, no doubt giving Egyptians tips on how to make their airports secure from BIC lighters, nail files, and Phillips screwdrivers.

AND THE STORIES GO ON AND ON AND ON. ALL ONE HAS TO DO IS USE THE GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE AND TYPE IN THE WORDS "TSA SCREENER MORALE" AND IT COMES UP WITH 778 HITS!
AND I CAN TELL YOU AFTER RESEARCHING THIS FOR HOURS AND HOURS, THEIR WAS NOTHING POSITIVE THAT I COULD FIND IN MY SEARCH.

I ALREADY KNOW THAT TSA OFFICIALS WILL PROBABLY ATTEMPT TO DISCREDIT THIS WRITER AS A DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEE, BUT I CAN HONESTLY TELL YOU, NOTHING COULD BE FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH!

SINCE LEAVING THE TSA ON JUNE 17TH, MY OVERALL HEALTH HAS IMPROVED. BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL.

I NOW TAKE IT UPON MYSELF TO TELL THE WORLD ABOUT THE ABUSE AND MISMANAGEMENT THAT I WAS WITNESS TO FOR ALMOST 3 YEARS WITH THE TSA. SEVERAL OF MY CLOSE FRIENDS ARE STILL TRAPPED IN THIS DIS-ORGANIZATION AND I SALUTE THEM FOR WHAT THEY HAVE TO ENDURE ON A DAILY BASIS.

AT A JOB FAIR RECENTLY FOR A CASINO THAT IS GOING TO OPEN IN ABOUT 14 MONTHS FROM NOW, I SAW MORE THEN HALF OF MY CO-WORKERS IN ATTENDANCE, AND SOME OF THEM WERE THE INEPT SUPERVISORS THAT I SPEAK SO FONDLY OF. ONE SUPERVISOR IN PARTICULAR HAS ASSAULTED 2 DIFFERENT EMPLOYEES, YET ODDLY ENEOUGH THIS RETIRED ARMY NON COM KEEPS HIS JOB WITH CLAIMS THAT HE HAS ANGER MANAGMENT ISSUES. BUT YET I HAVE WANDERED FROM THE ISSUE AT HAND. THESE CO-WORKERS THAT ATTENDED THE JOB FAIR ARE CLIMBING OVER EACH OTHER TO GET OUT OF WORKING AT A GOVERNMENT JOB. THAT IS HOW LOW MORALE IS WITHIN THIS INFANTILE GOVERNMENT AGENCY.

LET FREEDOM RING......................................THE ROGUE JEW