The Iron Man Striketh

Covenant's own Iron Man has taken on a new crusade of late. Ironic that we're talking about crusades when the issue at hand is facial hair. Anyway, he has made it his mission in life to harass, harangue, and intimidate those men that have facial hair, even if they have a religious or medical exemption.

Of course, it is company policy that men be clean shaven unless exempt for the above stated reasons. Now if we're going to be honest, many men probably are taking advantage of this loophole. Be that as it may, if ya got a note they have to let it be.

Not content with this, Gerardo Sanchez is personally going after men with facial hair, now stating that it has to be a full beard or nothing. I suppose if you have a note being very specific about the facial hair as to what and how much you need to grow that this might be an issue for you. But what if your note isn't specific? What if all it states is that you need to be allowed to grow facial hair? To my uneducated brain, it seems that if the company continues this line of harassment with employees that they could be asking for a law suit. We're waiting in hopeless anticipation for the union to respond to this.

Just where do we fit in?

On March 16th, TSA gave a security briefing that was essentially a re-hash of the weekly TSA security bulletins. Several of those that attended that meeting said that two important items were mentioned. One item was that SFO has been identified as a "high value terrorist target" along with LAX. The second item was more important. This item stated, that since we are not really TSA, we would not be able to become part of a program which would give us top secret security briefings. Make no mistake about this, this information would enable us to be better prepared in dealing with threats that might be coming our way.

So, once again, we are left out. Once again the safety of the American public is of secondary importance. We are left to fend for ourselves because we are not "really" TSA.

Then, why is CAS still here? Is our security clearance not at the same level as our TSA counterparts? Are we not trustworthy? What are we missing here?

We need to have the same tools and information as our TSA counterparts. We are not expendable and, for that matter, the safety of the American public flying out of SFO should not be of secondary importance. Why has TSA not done what should have been done a long time ago? I guess it must be pure politics at its best!

A Little Bit of Explanation Please!

It never ceases to wonder how unwilling management is to explain anything. Their mentality is: do everything we tell you without question, regardless if it makes any sense (remember that for all of you prospective supervisors!).

So there's no wonder the furor that is generated when a scheduling pleb sends out an email stating a company change in policy in regards to scanning in early and scanning out late. Really?! Does management not have any brains? Wait, sorry, I forgot who I was talking about.

According to CBA section 1, article 11 it states:

The Employer shall notify the Union Stewards and the Union at least thirty (30) days prior to implementing any new written policies or procedures affecting employees covered under this Agreement, including changes in the Employee Handbook.

Remember this folks, much of what management attempts to do is merely scare tactics. They bank on your ignorance of your rights, the laws, and the CBA.

Now there does happen to be a good reason for the panic attack from scheduling in regard to the scanning in early and scanning out late issue. Apparently CAS is looking to get rid of the B sheet and going back to the hand scans for payroll. If we all clock in too early there will be discrepancies with authorized or unauthorized overtime. See, now was that so difficult CAS?

March Craziness

What do you do when very few people are interested in playing your game, the metaphorical kind, that is? Well, you try and enlist the second and third stringers, that's what you do.

What was originally supposed to be only for Officers that scored 100% on their PSEs, has now been opened to people that have not.

The question that should be asked is why is this? Why doesn't everybody that is qualified want to participate? Perhaps it's because we see it for what it is? That it's merely a photo-op for management?

Listen, don't allow your disgust with management prevent you from making a few extra bucks. After all, how difficult could a WORD SEARCH be???

Rep. John Mica is at it again!

Years ago, TSA came out with a flawed report stating, that the cost of using private contractors to perform security was 17 percent higher when compared to using the TSA workforce. That report used data collected over a one year period and had glaring inaccuracies.

The GAO issued a report years ago, using data gathered over a four year period and concluded that it was only 7 to 9 percent higher. The GAO compared us to an airport that was comparable in size in order to get a accurate picture. (That airport was Logan Airport in Boston.)

Now, amazingly, a new report has come out stating that it is only 3 percent higher and Rep. John Mica has stated that his main concern is the safety of the American public. He goes on to say, "I'll spend any amount of money to make sure the country is safe or passengers are safe or the airline industry is safe. But what I want is the best performance."

What is he using as the measuring stick for best performance? Since 15 of the 16 airports in the SPP are regional which airports are they being compared to? What safety improvements have the other 15 come up with? For that matter, what have we? Those small airports do not have 24 hour operations, so, we all know that this is really about us and his connection to Mr. Gerry L. Berry of Winter Springs, Florida.

Read the complete story at: http://wapo.st/hbOlYR

TSA, Is there something that you don't want us to know?

Many months ago, USA Today, requested information on the results of radiation testing of the Xray equipment used at airports. TSA has just recently announced that there may have been "record keeping errors" and has asked for a retest. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the TSA found problems with more than one-quarter of the reports it reviewed, "including gross errors about radiation emissions.

Why has TSA waited so long to release this information? This information is of vital importance to those of us that are manning these machines, we are at risk! This behavior is totally unacceptable and inexcusable.

Wednesday the 16th, a House oversight subcommittee will hold hearings regarding the TSA oversight of the full body scanners.

Read the full story here at: http://bit.ly/e5efdU

"The Case of the Missing Shoes"

Without an explanation as to why, we have been told that new shoes will not be forthcoming. Have they found a better use for the money? Perhaps a down payment for the work of Rep. John Mica in advance? A little seed money? Is the head of corporate greed rising up again? Or is it to pay for the reappearance of Jeff Pugh? An explanation would be nice. Maybe TSA can supply us with an answer.

The Settling of the Dust

What did the company tell all of us back in the fall about the need to move the bid to November and May? It was to accommodate school and the flight loads, as well as the time changes that happen in November and MARCH? What happened? Why are several hundred checkpoint people now getting the proverbial shaft? It's not as though they didn't know Terminal 2 wasn't opening. They've known since at least this past summer that April 14th was the opening day.  Of course, this is so typical of the ever brilliant management team to change things at the last minute.

How could they not have anticipated that they would need to start the new bid around the time of the opening of T2? Their attempted solution of getting volunteers, with perfect attendance mind you, didn't pan out. Management was going to try and show their best employees when T2 opened, yet that backfired on them. It's not really hard to figure this stuff out. Oh, I don't know, you tell an employee you want them to volunteer for the T2 opening, and then either give them a less desirable schedule or leave them hanging on what their schedule will be. Who wouldn't want to sign up for that?

Now, there are numerous people that had made plans for the month of April based on their current schedule and the company gives them a big FU! Not that that is really different from any other time.

What we need to be asking is where is our union in all of this? Why haven't we heard from them on this issue? We need them to be front and center on this. And we need them to be earning our dues. Address the work force and make this company stop with this nonsense.

I love beating a dead horse, so let me keep it going: When will management be held responsible for their constant screw ups? If Covenant Aviation Security were run like a true for-profit company, most of these managers would have been sent to the unemployment line ages ago. So for the umpteenth time, let's ask the age old question once again: What does a manager have to do in order to be terminated?

New Web Site for Us

No, we haven't expanded our vast empire here at Security First @ SFO. But our union has. They've created a new blog site specifically targeted at us to keep us informed and up to date. It's worth visiting and adding it to your list of sites to visit. (Hopefully Security First is one of those that you visit regularly as well???) And hey, a little bit of competition is always a good thing. Just don't expect the biting commentary that we deliver here to be delivered there as well.

Anyway, check it out here:

http://sfoscreenerworld.org

The Old is New Again

We have been getting reports of more Jeff Pugh sightings. The word around town is that he is here for the opening of Terminal 2 (BTW, how's that working out for some of you suckers...err..volunteers to help with that transition?). He was also reportedly getting his badge and background check.

What will this all mean for us? Who knows, as Covenant Aviation Security is being mum on the whole issue. Is this a temporary visit? Is he going to regain his position as top dog at SFO...oh wait, he'll have to battle Mindy Pengel for that position! Anyway, keep the reports coming in.

BREAKING NEWS: Shift Bid

Coming out tomorrow on a special CAS Info bulletin is detailed information for the upcoming summer shift bid. CAS will be implementing the summer bid a little over a month earlier for Checkpoint TSOs and LTSOs.

This will only effect the checkpoint TSOs and LTSOs. If you're a checkpoint TSO or LTSO, your summer bid will begin o
n April 9th, instead of the originally planned date of May 14th. The bulletin doesn't specify information on the other classifications.

The important dates are as follows:

March 15: Seniority rosters posted in Ascent.

March 17: EEs on workers comp or HR leave must be returned to duty.

March 18: Final seniority list and bid times posted in Ascent.

March 19: Bid lines will be posted in Ascent.

March 26: Summer shift bid will be conducted in EAC.

April 9: Summer shift bid will go into effect.

So this is good news if you were unhappy about the schedule that you received for this current bid. If not, well you know how management feels about that.

Interviews to Start Today

Interviews, at least for checkpoint lead, is set to start today. And don't forget to brush up on your STAR interview method. As that is the method with which Covenant Aviation Security likes to use for their interviews. Check out this site for a brief explanation of it. Perhaps they'll ask probing questions like, "What do you do when you get to a location you've never worked at before?" Then again, one always is suspect of CAS's whole interview process. After all, if you've been there for two plus years, management should already have a pretty good idea of what you're like as a potential candidate for that position. Of course, the interviews really don't matter, does it?