Boring Labor Law Update

Here is an Amicus Brief (friend of the court brief) filed by the Service Employees International Union:



http://www.nlrb.gov/about/foia/vr/ugl/SEIU_UGL_Amicus_Brief.pdf



This brief will have a receptive audience with Democratic appointees in the current majority at the National Labor Relations Board. It appears that when contractors change, there may be new obligations for employers to bargain. It also appears the right to vote out the union at that juncture may disappear. (for other briefs filed see http://www.nlrb.gov/about_us/news_room/notice_for_briefs/index.aspx)



The ability of a new contractor to slash wages may be tempered by this, but then again "bargaining" at SFO seems to have a meaning of its own, doesn't it?


Update: my first link is not working probably due to my lack of technical skills - for the curious, it's the SEIU brief below UGL-Unicco, which can be accessed from the second link.

A Word from One of Our Readers Part 2

As promised, here is part 2 from yesterday's impassioned letter from a co-worker and reader of the blog.

The Growing Divide between The Hard Workers and “The Wall Flowers”

          by IronSublimation

In most other places to work, the trend is often this: the more you do, the better the rewards.  With CAS, that trend is the opposite.  The more you do, the more chances you have of making a mistake, thus, potential termination.  

It has been my constant observation that there are two types of TSOs: the ones that work hard and go beyond their call of duty and the ones that do the bare minimum.  I think that last sentence is pretty self-explanatory.  

You have the ones that walk away when they hear “[gender] assists” and the ones that actively listen for these calls.  You have the ones that hang around the supervisor podium or office, chomping it up with a terminal manager (Shelley Burrell) or other supervisors and the ones that remain on the floor working their posterior off until their next break.  Need I go further? 

Anyway, the real issue is the growing divide between the two groups.  This divide happens at the officer level, the lead level, and supervisor/management level.  At the officer level, the hard working group observes the actions (or lack thereof) of the wallflowers.  We see it as unfair that we are doing all of the work and that they are doing the bare minimum.  But do we complain on the floor?  No, because we have a job to do.

At the lead level, leads are responsible for rotations and delegation of duties.  A good lead will enforce their authority to delegate and be as fair as possible.  A bad lead will take the path of least resistance, which is to delegate the work to a hard working officer who will most likely not resist the request.  The wallflowers will resist or will use their friendship with the lead (if they have one) not to do any work or be called out.  How many times have you seen hard workers tapped out of a position to get an “assist” and see on the other side of the checkpoint several officers of the same gender as you, doing nothing? 

At the supervisor level, when faced with the duty of delegating officer work, the supervisor falls into the same boat as leads: taking the path of least resistance.  But a far more sinister path of least resistance lies within the enforcement of rules and actual supervisory work.  

I’ve lost count how many times I have seen a supervisor critique or chastise an officer that was chewing gum, talking on an x-ray, or missing a step in a procedure.  I applaud that move because at the very least, they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, which is supervising.  Perhaps a little more tact in delivering the critique may be in line for some, however, I am sure they mean well.  

The issue with certain supervisors is when the critiques become selective to those who offer little resistance.  How many times have you been chastised for talking on the x-ray, even if for a tiny period?  And how many times have you seen others, who have the reputation of being a resistor or wallflower, continue to talk and talk without receiving any reprimand?  I bet you’ve lost count… if you’re a hard worker. 

Finally, to complete this divide, we must look to the management level.  After all that I’ve said above, we hard workers, not wall flowers, continually observe the actions of our fellow officers, leads, and supervisors.  We grow progressively frustrated with all that we see around us.  To see this divide promoted by the management, perhaps inadvertently, makes matters even worse.  While we are working hard on the floor, we see certain wallflowers cozy it up with the managers, conversing and laughing.  While I have no problem with conversations and laughter, it’s the timing of it and the people involved.  

It is always the same people who are “hanging out” with the terminal manager;  the same people who talk to no end while running the x-ray without getting reprimanded.  It is the same people who stand along the wall barely doing anything and walking away when an “assist” is called.  We hard working officers are not stupid and we see all of this.  A particular example of a terminal manager that does this, quite openly it seems, is Shelley Burrell; unprofessional and unacceptable.  It is about time that we take action.

Solutions:  Promote officers that value hard work and fairness.  Force management to maintain professionalism and to limit fraternization with subordinates.  Prevent supervisors from having to complete the bureaucratic processes of TSA (read: paperwork) and keep them on the floor, monitoring the checkpoint actively instead of passively.  Educate the leadership on the need for them to maintain a professional and fair attitude, keep personal relationships outside of the work environment, and perform their duties objectively, not subjectively.  A possible problem with the last solution is the fact that the problem persists at the top, who would need to be the ones to enact such solutions.

Mike Bolles- The man with all the answers!

The mere fact that those answers add up to a pile of horse manure does not matter. What matters here is that someone just might believe this fantasy.

A for "profit" company will never be able to "meet the staffing needs" because they artificially inflate the number of actual staffing. In order to "maximize" profits the staffing levels are kept at a bare bones level. It is only through the intervention of TSA that an increase in staffing occurs. What would change if CAS were to get another airport? Nothing! Generating profits, not providing top notch security service is the main focal point.

The solution that CAS applies can best be described as robbing Peter to pay Paul. Gutting the CTX community of DFO's to man the checkpoints is only one of the problems. They would much rather have baggage miss a flight than have the passenger ticked off.

The Mike Bolles solution is laughable. If he would apply the same standards to our wonderful management team who would be left? Hey, Mike, let's paint everyone with the same brush and standards. The corporate culture has to set an example. So far the example has been shameful.

Clean house first and lead by example, not with threats and intimidation.

A Word from One of Our Readers Part 1

We recently received a well thought-out letter from one of our co-workers and a reader of the blog. We thought that we should share part one of his/her letter with you all.

Politics, Politics, Politics…

          by IronSublimation

It is my hope that everyone knows how political the promotional process is here at Covenant Aviation Security.  I feel like I can count the number of questionable promotions that have been made on more than the number of fingers I have.

Call me naïve, but in the beginning I was a bright-eyed, motivated individual with hopes for a promotion down the line.  After seeing how the company promotes and what one needs to do to move ahead, it has been progressively difficult for me (and for many others, I imagine) to remain motivated.  

My first chance at promotion, albeit lateral, came when there was an opening to become a Dual Function Officer.  While the requisition stated that one must have been employed at CAS for six months, that “requirement” is merely a “soft” one.  

The timing of the requisition was almost impeccable. I was two weeks away from my six-month mark.  After providing my supervisor with my necessary paperwork, my STSO gave it to terminal manager Russell Mackey. Mackey subsequently denied the request, citing the fact that I have not been with the company for six months.  Feeling dejected and not yet knowing exactly how the company ran and the exceptions that could be made, I understood the reasoning for denial and moved on.  

Later on, I found out that someone from my class was promoted to DFO during the same time that I applied.  This is when I found out that the requirement for promotion was a “soft” one and that even Mackey has overlooked it in the past.  So why would he deny me and approve others?  Is it due to his personal rapport or relationship with others?  I confronted him on this issue some time later. He denied any wrongdoing, saying that he “didn’t know” that he could “overlook the requirement,” which is a lie as his promoting history dictates.  What I find particularly disturbing about this case is the fact that I cannot even trust my own manager.  He knew very well that he could have approved my request, and he knew very well that he has overlooked certain requirements in the past.

Strike two came when there was an opening for the class called “Protrack.”  If you don’t know, Protrack is a program that prepared officers for promotion into higher positions like lead or supervisor.  After initially applying, I made it to the first step of the process, which would be a prepared 5-minute presentation about leadership and what it meant to me.  On the day of my presentation, after much preparation time, I was told that my (and others’) presentation would be postponed indefinitely.  I never heard about it again despite repeated inquiries.  After working hard on the presentation and being left out in the cold, so to speak, I was amazed at how I had to find out through the grapevine that they had scrapped Protrack altogether.  Surely this would show me exactly how the company ran, right?  Well, I forged on, with hope for bigger and better things.

The third strike, which ironically was not the last considering the rules of baseball and the laws of California, came during the promotional process for Behavioral Detection Officers.  This time, the requirement for one to become a BDO was one year.  I found out the hard way that this requirement was actually a “hard” requirement rather than a “soft” one that I have explained previously.  After the interview process, which I thought went extremely well, I was kept in the dark about who did and did not make it.  After I found out whom they selected (through the grapevine), which, at the time, initially included someone from my class (déjà vu, right?), I was told that I was not selected because I have not been with the company for a full year. It was two weeks away from my one-year anniversary.  While the other person from my hiring class was eventually told that he or she would not be able to join due to his or her tenure and that it was a mistake on their part, just the sequence of events was enough to frustrate me even further. Not only did they waste time for the both of us, their vetting of candidates, or lack thereof, was apparently inefficient.

The final strike comes during the process for a promotion to supervisor.  Luckily for me (or not), I was granted an interview where I would be asked questions in front of three terminal managers and one human resources representative.  

During the interview process, I will admit that I wasn’t at my best, however, the look on managements’ faces and body language was discouraging from the moment I walked in there.  After knowing a bit about the way promotions were handled at CAS and observing the body language of the three managers, I already felt that they had an idea for whom they would promote and that the interview process was simply for show.  I knew of others who I felt would be great supervisors and yet, they were snubbed.  

There were four people who were selected, and of particular focus are the following three: Matt Davis, Ismael Rodriguez, and Robert Reclus. Do you see any particular issue that might call for an investigation?  Here’s the info:  Matt Davis is married to another supervisor, Melissa Davis.  Ismael Rodriguez used to work for SFPD.  And where did Mindy Pingel work before coming to CAS?  Robert Reclus is the twin brother of former Dual Function Supervisor James Reclus. 

See the connections there?  Oh wait, there’s more…

Recently, a certain officer was promoted to lead.  It’s no secret that this officer is the boyfriend to a certain Floor Supervisor from the mornings. I have also observed this officer in the past having quite a cozy relationship with Shelley Burrell.  Coincidence?  That’s what they will tell you.

And on a side note, can someone please explain to me why that Floor Supervisor was working in the same checkpoint, let alone, same terminal, with her boyfriend?  Conflict of interest much?   

So I presented a problem and here is a solution:  Promote on a meritocratic basis; judge an employee and their potential for leadership not just by an interview but by their history and workmanship on the floor, and finally, enforce anti-fraternization policies upon CAS management.

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow.

Ooh, La La! "French-blue"

More media coverage for the indefatigable Covenant Aviation marketing department.
It's in the Charlotte Observer, and a shorter version appears in the Miami Herald.

They quote Mike Bolles, Senior Vice President at Covenant. He talks about firing or disciplining people. That's the straight scoop from a big picture guy at Covenant.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/26/1866721/airports-can-opt-out-of-tsa-but.html

Obviously, Mr. Gerald Berry of Winter Springs, Florida, was a little overexposed in recent press coverage, so they've trotted out the B-team in Mr. Bolles.

When will these journalists start asking Covenant Aviation Security how the math works? The uniforms are described as "French-blue", but shouldn't we look a little below the surface?

Happy Thanksgiving

We just wanted to send a shout out to all of our readers out there in wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully you're spending it with your family, however, if you do have to work hopefully you and your team is having a tasty potluck.

National Opt Out Day

As most should know by now, today is the day. Will there be even more massively long lines than usual? We should know in a couple of hours. TSA/CAS will be attempting to have two lines at those checkpoints with the AIT. One for those that want to go through the naked body scanner, and one for those that are opting out.

We will say this for those that want to know. We know of no TSO/LTSO/STSO that actually enjoys looking at the images or of any Officer that enjoys performing the new pat downs. Most either just suck it up and do it or begrudgingly do it. It's not a pleasurable thing for Officers either way. It's just our job.

As generally the case with a hierarchical structure such as the TSA, the orders come from the top and work their way down to the men and women on the front lines. If we refuse to do it, we could lose our job, since it is considered part of our job. So if you're a member of the flying public, keep that in mind before you decide to tear in to an Officer for doing their job. What we do recommend is that you write a formal letter of complaint to TSA, DHS, the Whitehouse, and your congressman or congresswoman.

I can only speak for myself on this issue, and I know that I am in the minority with most of my co-workers in saying that I think the AIT as well as these new pat down procedures to be ludicrous. If, as Janet Napolitano and John Pistole are saying that it's necessary for security, then why did it take TSA 10 months to implement the new pat down procedures? Why did TSA react to the Yemen threat by banning printer cartridges of a certain size when any number of things that come through a check point could contain an IED?

These are the types of questions that the media should be asking of Napolitano and Pistole. Congress should be demanding answers to these questions. TSA spent $45 million dollars over two year ago attempting to implement Checkpoint Evolution in which one of the stated things was to become more proactive and not reactive. Once again, why have all of TSA's latest actions not only been reactive, but downright overreactive?

TSA has become a bloated behemoth of a monster. I know that I differ with some of my fellow contributors to this blog when I state that replacing Covenant Aviation Security with TSA at SFO is simply not the panacea that many think it will be. To replace one incompetent bureaucracy (CAS) with an even larger incompetent bureaucracy (TSA) hardly seems worthwhile. And just who is TSA accountable to when they screw up?

Who said going through airport security couldn't be pleasurable?

Thanksgiving at SFO courtesy of CAS

Are you ready to receive the box lunch, cookie and a soda that we use to get from CAS? Well, once again, it is not coming this year. In their attempt to maximize profits, and to show us how little they think of us, they have once again decided to bunch together Thanksgiving and Christmas. (We think)

Once again, it is the little things that count. How about the company making an attempt to show us that they appreciate all that we have done. How about a nice gesture to the people that will be working Thanksgiving Day and who will be away from their families? Good will, if they know what that means, would show that they are trying.

It appears that we are not worth it! So be it.

Frequent Flyer Doesn't See Benefit of SPP

The blogosphere has been weighing in on John Mica's privatization pitch.

Here's one that speaks from a business traveler's perspective:

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/flygracefully/2010/11/19/charlotte-wants-to-opt-out-of-tsa

Funny how the message is so clear. She doesn't have any kickbacks clouding her judgment!

Mica needs a reality check

Republican John Mica from Florida has suggested that airports consider going to private contractors and opting out of TSA. The thinking here is? That it would somehow be better than TSA? Obviously, he is not thinking this through.

Private contractors follow the TSA SOP and cannot modify any procedures, so how does that make a private contractor better? Oh, it must be the kickbacks!

A GAO report stated that the cost of a private contractor is 9 to 10% higher than a TSA Federal workforce, so, we fail to see the benefit. I guess we need to provide this info to Mr. Mica. We will rise to the occasion and will fill in the necessary blanks. Stay tuned!

Orlando Sanford International Airport Opts Out of TSA

Orlando Sanford International Airport has decided to go private contractor in the belief that they will get better customer service. We reported on this earlier in which Gerry Berry was convincing the airport that it would be financially beneficial to them to go this route, i.e., kick backs.

So now the question is did Berry woo the airport commission enough to select Covenant Aviation Security as that go to contractor? Only time will tell.

Congressman Does Sales Prospecting for SPP

Congressman John Mica of Florida, a Republican, is letting airports know about the SPP. He should know since he is one of the authors of the Aviation Tranportation Security Act. But that doesn't mean he should help his benefactors (aka Gerry Berry, $700, and FirstLine Transportation Security's Political Action Committee, $1000) in such a brazen fashion. It seems that Orlando Int'l Airport, in response to the Congressman, will host a presentation on December 8.

http://www.wesh.com/r/25816724/detail.html

Note that Orlando International does not have an Airport Board meeting scheduled on December 8. So PowerPoint presentations from any contractors present promising the moon may not be published online.

I have to believe the powers that be are starting to play hide the details. Commentor "Anon" may see this as a Republican play based on their pending majority in the House, but let's be real. A divided Congress leads to deal-making between the parties (just like in 2002). SEIU obviously has an end game here. Will AFGE respond on behalf of their members in Orlando? And how?

The power of SEIU, The Democratic Party and the Airport Commission at SFO

This is the letter that has been sent out on the internet, to the TSA blogs and other high Government officials within the Republican party, that highlights our position. Please copy and paste this letter, in its entirety, and post to any and all TSA related blogs that you want. Thanks much for your help.

Your voice for change shall and will be heard!

There is a private contractor, Covenant Aviation Security, responsible
for the Checkpoint and Checked baggage screening at San Francisco
International Airport. This private contractor is part of something
called the " Security Partnership Program " which, in the beginning,
started as a pilot program with a 3 year life expectancy. This
relationship should have been terminated quite some time ago. Now, 8
years later, this screening relationship is still in effect. How so,
and why? Well, here's where it gets interesting.

SEIU is the union that the employees of Covenant Aviation have to
belong to to keep their jobs. We know that SEIU, in 2008,
contributed more than 30 million dollars to the State of California
Democratic Party candidates. These candidates include Sen.Diane
Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer. SEIU is one of the most
powerful unions in the country and has 2.2 million members. 700,000
of those members are in the State of California. SEIU is one of the
Nation's top campaign contributors. The attached link will pull up a
story with more information.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/31/MNPH1F23SQ.DTL&type=newsbayarea

It appears that the only reason that TSA has not Federalized this
airport is purely political. The power of this financial relationship
with the Democratic Party is preventing this conversion.

SFO is the sixth largest airport in the country. It has increased its
passenger volume by 5% this year in this tough economic
environment. There is no other airport in the country, the size of
SFO, that is controlled by a private contractor. All of the other
private contractors have regional or much smaller airports.

There also appears to be a profit sharing relationship with the
Airport Commission at SFO. We believe that this is a 50/50 split of
the profits. The President of Covenant,
in his presentation to the Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida, highlighted
some of the benefits of leaving TSA for a private contractor. From Berry's presentation it appears that CAS makes money on the interest (they share half the profit after interest) The government prints money, CAS can put this money in the bank until it is needed to meet the payroll.

This link will pull up the minutes of this presentation.
http://www.osaa.net/documents/boardminutes/8-3-2010.pdf.

There are two ways that SFO can become Federalized. One way would be
for the Airport officials to request a change over. (And that will
never happen, as long as there is a revenue sharing arrangement
between Covenant Aviation Security and SFO.) The second and more
probable way, would be for Mr.John Pistole, the TSA Administrator, to
decide that SFO should be federalized.

Is the "Democratic Obama Administration" conveniently turning a blind
eye to the goings on at SFO? Does the Democratic Party feel that they
have nothing to fear and are untouchable? Does the security of the
American public flying out of SFO come down to an issue of political
contributions to the Democratic Party? It certainly appears to be so!

The American people need to know that the safety, of passengers flying
into and out of SFO, are of secondary importance and that decisions are made based on contributions by SEIU to
the Democratic Party.

TSA needs to take the necessary steps now
to safeguard the American public and not continue with this purely
political and financial relationship.

TSA will be the first to admit....

that they have been reactionary instead of proactive. It is extremely difficult to anticipate the "next" threat before it becomes the next threat. The new TSA administrator, Mr. John Pistole, has brought a new culture and a new sense of urgency. DHS, the 800 pound gorilla in all of this, is the one really behind all these reactionary responses. The new TSA administrator will need time to implement new procedures and policies. He is the right man for the job!

One of his best and biggest suggestions to improve security is to increase the security level for 10,000 of the TSA workforce. This step alone can help bridge the gap between what the "upper" levels of TSA knows versus what the front-line workforce knows. More information means a more knowledgeable and professional workforce.

Let's give him all of the time and all the support he needs to get things done.

Howard

Sir, could you please undress for me?

It shouldn't come as a surprise or be news to any of us in the airport security business of the growing backlash against the AIT machines or the new pat downs. Here are just some of the stories floating out there on the interwebs:

The Atlantic posts about a US Army staff sergeant serving in Afghanistan and how he finds it egregious as to how TSA treats our own citizenry here versus how the military treat the Afghans.

Heres a story from SignOn San Diego about a man being ejected from the San Diego International Airport for refusing to go along with these barbaric procedures. And here's his first person account of the story.

The NJ Star Ledger has yet another take on the whole ordeal.

And by now, a lot of people should have heard about the grass roots movement for National Opt Out Day on November 24, in which people are pledging to opt out of the AIT.

Here's my own personal take on the matter, and I hope that people in the general public read this as well: As one who has to perform this pat down, look at these images, and do these invasive searches, I find it appalling that we're doing it. I hate doing it, and I think that this is just more security theater on the part of TSA. Just as TSA's reaction to the Yemeni incident with printer cartridges, it's all reactionary and for show. Mind you, I speak only for myself and no one else.

The question is this: when will TSA be forced to answer for their bureaucratic bull crap and utter lack of regard for security as well as their lack of regard for real security? These new measures do not make us any safer.

More federal workers' pay tops $150K

An article in FederalTimes.com states that the number of Federal employees making more than 150,000 dollars per year has increased more than ten fold in the last five years and has doubled since President Obama took office. This certainly speaks volumes about Democratic Party values.

There are more shining examples within this article and can be read at:

http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20101110/BENEFITS01/11100301/1013/CONGRESS

The Time Has Come; It Has Begun!

It is time to expose the goings on between SEIU, The Democratic Party and the San Francisco Airport Commission. This cozy relationship, at our expense, has to end now!

We have initiated our thrust into the world of the TSA blogs to totally disclose the inner workings of this political and financial relationship.

Your help may be needed to help us in this effort. This is an enormous undertaking and we will need your participation.

May the seeds that we are planting bear fruit.

Good luck to us all!

Please remember to recycle...

In this politically correct world of calling on the public and corporations to be green, it's nice to know that Covenant Aviation Security is all about the recycling effort. Recycling of ideas, that is.

First there were part-timers. Then no new part-timers. Now there are part-timers again.

First there were CTX and Checkpoint TSOs. Then there were DFOs and CTX folks became the red-headed step children. Now CTX folks are loved again. Not so much for the DFOs.

They tried hall passes, sorry, Terminal Movement Tracking Cards years ago. Then they gave up on it. Now it's back again. Or is it?

They lose a Terminal Manager, then that Terminal Manager comes back again, this time as an Assistant Terminal Manager.

Now the latest are Bin Loaders. We had Bin Loaders years ago and except for a handful in CTX, they were eliminated when Covenant got busted by TSA on an audit. The Bin Loaders were listed on the books as TSOs. For those that aren't paying attention: That meant that Covenant was billing TSA for these "TSOs" but paying them at Bin Loader wages. I wonder how much of that revenue the SFO Airport Commission received in that deal?

So it's not much of a surprise that Covenant is bringing back the Bin Loaders. Except this time, they're coming back in a slightly different capacity. They are presumedly being tasked as Divestiture Officers (DO) and Travel Document Checkers. I wonder how the DO is going to work at checkpoints that have the Naked Body Scanners....oops sorry, what was the less offensive acronym TSA drummed up? Oh yes, Advanced Image Technology. Hmmm....AIT sounds so much nicer, doesn't it?

Anyway, these positions are being hired supposedly for the Holidays and as part-timers. So our only advice for those future employees that decide to take the job is beware. They could eliminate the position at anytime. Perhaps after Covenant signs their new contract, when they don't have TSA on their backs? Oh wait, that would actually require local TSA to give a damn, when we know none of them do!

Citizen Berry?

I decided to take an updated look at campaign contributions on the Federal Election Commission website. I was a little surprised at what I saw, but then again maybe I shouldn't be.

Mr. Gerald L. Berry of Winter Springs, FL made a contribution of $250 to Bachmann for Congress on 8/17/2010. His occupation: retired.

If he's not retired, I expect the Bachmann people will be updating the report. If he is retired, I understand, that was quite a performance on August 3 at Orlando Sanford International Airport.
Maybe it's time.

What the ?

Week at a time bid? What happened?

No advanced bidding, a six minute time slot, only one 10 1/2 hour allotment per day. Why?

One would think that they don't really want anyone to take any time off? How is what they did fair to those who have enough PTO and want to take time off during the holidays? Employee appreciation? Yeah, right! They are showing us how our needs are irrelevant.

When will they recognize that our time off is important to us? Does anyone think that we are asking too much in asking for fair treatment? Once again they are forcing us to use Kincare or FMLA which would give them very little time to find a staffing replacement.

It is time that they wake up!

Who will be the Losers?

As the threat to our national security continues to increase daily we
are still amazed at the lack of response from TSA regarding the
"Federalization" of the Checkpoint and Checked baggage arrangement at
San Francisco International Airport. The political connection with
SEIU, which is the union representing the private security workforce
at SFO, appears to be the main obstacle preventing this conversion.

Does the security of the
American public flying out of SFO come down to an issue of political
contributions to the Democratic Party? It certainly appears to be so!

So, we, the employees of CAS and the public flying out of SFO are the losers! The quality of our training would improve substantially under TSA.

Mandatory Overtime?

We got word earlier tonight that Barbara Alvarenga was informing TSOs at a guard moun that for those that work past 2 AM this morning, will be required to work mandatory overtime. Supposedly this is due to the changing of time for daylight savings. And if anyone refuses, they will be charged with an occurrence. "Well, excuse me for knowing my rights and the CBA!"

So, let's look at what the CBA says, shall we? According to the CBA, section 2.4.1:

2.4.1 Mandatory Overtime

There shall be no mandatory overtime, except for emergencies such as a security breach, a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, directives as assigned by TSA, or similar event.

Well, golly gee! Let's see if we can figure this out, ok? So is lack of staffing and preparation an emergency? I suppose it could be. Then again, they'd be requiring mandatory overtime ALL the time due to our constant lack of staffing. After all, it's not as though people quit working for Covenant Aviation Security all the time for jobs that pay less with less benefits.

How about a security breach? Hmmm...don't think so.

A terrorist attack? That's a new one! Daylight savings time equals a terrorist attack? I don't even think Bush would have tried that one!

A natural disaster? Well, we suppose hiring and promoting incompetent boobs to positions of authority and power could be considered a disaster, but certainly not natural. That's what scientists call a "man made disaster".

Has TSA implemented a new SOP that requires mandatory overtime for daylight savings time? It's possible. God knows they don't have the best and brightest running things. However, to our knowledge no such policy has been implemented by TSA.

So that leaves us just one question. Is Alvarenga just pulling this out of her ass, or is she under some directive from her higher ups? Inquiring minds want to know...

Another Failed Experiment

We've been reporting on the DFO situation for sometime now. The latest news is that DFOs are being offered the chance to go CTX, Checkpoint, or to remain as a DFO. We can't imagine too many DFOs wanting to go up against the CTX seniority, then again, working at the checkpoint is no picnic either.

So the question is this: Is Donnie Filbert eliminating DFOs because of some TSA requirement or is this just his way to separate himself from his predecessor? Since Jeff Pugh got such a hardon whenever DFOs were mentioned, this might be the reason. Or it could simply be because TSA has determined we have too many DFOs. Either way, it is a huge turn of events.

For the longest time, DFOs were the only way to go. Those that had any sense of staffing knew that it really didn't make any sense to have such a large number of DFOs. Covenant Aviation Security's argument has always been that you get more flexibility with DFOs than you do with single function Officers. This argument doesn't stand up to scrutiny when you look at head counts and where help is needed.

For those of you that are a DFO, do you plan on switching or remaining, and why?

I'm melting, I'm melting!

One of the last TSOs to go through the Rev9 training forgot that he was scheduled for the class. He had been told, but it was his Monday, and he showed up at the ckpt at his usual time, some 3-4 hrs before the Rev9 class was to start.

Not seeing his name on the b-sheet, and still not remembering the class, he called the SCC to find out why his name was not listed.

A couple of minutes later, the ckpt was treated to the sight of Russ Mackey yelling at the TSO at the top of his lungs. He yelled: "Get out! Get off the checkpoint! Get out right now!"

The TSO, having a couple of hours to kill before class, went to HR and complained to Rosalie Aranda about Mackey's behavior.

Rosalie called Mackey up for a chat. Shortly thereafter, Mackey apologized to the TSO. The TSO got to the Rev9 class on time.

This story doesn't come as much of a surprise, considering Mackey's hotheadedness.  Then again, Covenant Aviation Security seems to foment this type of behavior from its managers and supervisors. Must we remind you about Shelley Burrell, Anthony Nguyen, Linda Widden,  Curtis Boggs, or Gerardo Sanchez?

Turn Your Airport Screening Into a Profit Center

Turn Your Airport Screening Into a Profit Center!

The Republicans and Gerry Berry Backed Candidates Had a Great Night!

Operators are Standing By! Got a Union? No Problem, Don't Bargain! (just like SFO?)

http://www.osaa.net/documents/boardminutes/8-3-2010.pdf

Happy Days Are Here Again!