Cooking the Books

Those that know, and that would include you dear readers, know that Covenant Aviation Security is not a typical for-profit business. A typical for-profit business would attempt to be lean, mean, and green. We all know that that is not Covenant's modus operandi. We need not look further to prove that than the constant crazy movements that we all have been a part of.

One of the ways that CAS maximizes their profits is by taking advantage of the government contractor relationship. That is accomplished any number of ways. But let's discuss one of those as well as how local TSA is complicit in that.

CAS regularly uses certified TSOs, LTSOs, or STSOs for administrative work that should be coming out of their own separate budget. That is, until they get busted for doing it via a TSA audit.

Why does it take an audit? Well, local TSA doesn't officially know about it until they do an audit per TSA HQ. I suppose the bigger question that should be asked is why does local TSA allow CAS to get away with it? Simply put, it's in their best interest for CAS to succeed. If CAS were to get booted out of here, then all of those TSA suits would actually have to do some work other than their occasional audit. But let's not get too side tracked and detail some of these fudging of numbers.

Not long ago CAS had certified LTSOs running the EAC. They still have some certified STSOs working in scheduling. They have certified TSOs performing IT duties, getting paid acting lead wages.

According to the books, CAS has 24 trainers. At last count, it was more like 7 that actually work there; unless you want to count the uselessness of the Assistant Training Managers as part of that number.

And a little over a year ago, CAS was forced to get rid of their made up positions of "Certified Assistant Manager" for the less flashy title of Floor Supervisor. Remember, those "CAM"s were listed on the books as STSOs.

One of the things we need to realize about this scam job is that all of those certified Officers they pull to do that work are fewer Officers we have to help the rest of us doing the work at the checkpoints and bag rooms. And just to make it clear: our beef is not with those people performing those duties listed above. Many of them are absolutely wonderful people just looking to survive by getting off the floor. Our beef is with the unscrupulous activities of Covenant management and the bilking of our tax dollars to serve their greater good.

Folks, it's time we all stop sitting idly by and not calling them on this. Not long ago Gerry Berry begged Covenant employees to contact their elected representatives in supporting Senator Roy Blunt's proposed legislation in keeping SPP going. Here at Security First @ SFO think it's time to let our elected representatives know that SPP is not the way to keep going. It's not the best thing for our national budget and it's not the best thing for security.

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.

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.

A sucker born every minute

You may or may not remember a post a month ago outlining exactly what happened with the Assistant Terminal Manager position recently filled by Barbara Alvarenga. Well, we have uncovered some new information on that position.

If what we can gather from this job posting on SFO's web site, then the Floor Supervisors that were dangled that promotion never had a chance. We don't know exactly when the job posting was posted, but the filing deadline was February 12, 2010. If Covenant Aviation Security, i.e. Donnie Filbert, was serious about leaving that position opened to their Floor Supervisors, then why would they have posted this on SFO's and other job websites around the same time they posted it for the Floor Supervisors?

One can only safely assume then, that Covenant Aviation Security never had any intentions of giving that position to their Floor Supervisors. Of course, we already knew this, but this gives us hard evidence of this fact.

We really hope that the Floor Supervisors are content doing the menial work of managers without the pay and title to go along with it.

The original job posting has been saved for posterity just in case SFO takes it down.

A walk down memory lane

People tend to live in the moment. We all generally have short memories as well. But that's where people like us step in. With the re-emergence of Barbara Alvarenga, we figured it would be a good time to refresh or just inform people of some rather recent history.

About a year and a half ago, Covenant Aviation Security posted a job posting for "Certified Assistant Manager." The MIT's at the time, and a handful of supervisors were ultimately cast in that role.

So what was a "Certified Assistant Manager"? Much like the Floor Supervisor, MIT, Jr. Supervisor, Assistant Training Manager, Director of This, Deputy Director of That, it was a Covenant Aviation Security creation. That is, there is officially no such position within TSA.

A "Certified Assistant Manager" was essentially an ATSA (Aviation Transportation Security Act) certified supervisor given a managerial title and all the duties that went along with being a manager. However, in TSA's bureaucratic ways, they busted Covenant Aviation Security for this position while doing one of their audits. Why, you might ask? Well, the problem was that the "Certified Assistant Manager" was listed on the TSA books as an STSO. They were not listed on the books as a manager. What that meant was that TSA was paying for this position out of the same budget that is set aside for all ATSA certified personnel. Where if it was an official Covenant Aviation Security manager, that would have come out of CAS's own budget.

What to do, might you ask? CAS's solution to the problem was simple. They told the "Certified Assistant Managers" at the time that they could either be demoted in title and pay by becoming the CAS created position of Floor Supervisor, or they could find work elsewhere. Naturally, they all gracefully accepted this praise worthy move and gladly accepted the demotion.

Oh, but it gets better. Covenant Aviation Security dangled a promotion in front of these newly designated Floor Supervisors. They dangled the Assistant Terminal Manager promotion to get many of them to take this position. Just in case you did not know, the Floor Supervisors are all salaried STSOs. Not that regular STSOs have a lot of opportunity for overtime, there is at least a chance. These Floor Supervisors have no chance of that. In other words, they have to work actual overtime if their Over Lords deem it necessary without having to pay them overtime rates.

These demotions all took place in November of last year. Lo and behold, in January of this year there was a job posting for Assistant Terminal Manager. The fascinating thing about that job posting was that it was only opened to Floor Supervisors. In this regard, Covenant Aviation Security kept to their word. "Go Floor Supervisor and we'll keep you up there for promotion."

February, March, April, May passed. Nothing. Not a word. Not a peep. Whatever happened to that Assistant Terminal Manager promotion? No one knew. Tick, tock, tick, tock. By now, most everyone had completely forgotten about the promotion. Hell, the Floor Supervisors themselves probably forgot as well.

And then, a little over two weeks ago word leaked out that Barbara Alvarenga was back as the new Assistant Terminal Manager. Well., golly gee willikers! So THAT'S what happened to that promotion! Donnie Filbert brought back his old United Airlines buddy!

The question that remains and should be continued to be asked is why has Filbert been allowed to bring back an absolute incompetent person? Why is Mindy Pengel allowing this?!

We know it might be easy for some of you to dismiss this story because it has to do with STSOs. But we shouldn't be. This is not some atypical thing that Covenant Aviation Security does. This is THEIR Standard Operating Procedure. The lesson to be learned is that if they're willing to do something like this to their STSOs, they're willing to do that and more to the rest of us. And they're wondering why morale is so low?

It just gets better and better

Hey, Floor Supervisors! You remember several months ago when you agreed to become a Floor Supervisor with hopes of being an Assistant Terminal Manager? You know, that promotion management dangled in front of you in order to get you to take a salaried position? And do you remember that Assistant Terminal Manager position that was posted back in January? I bet you guys wondered whatever happened to that position, huh?

Does the name Barbara Alvarenga ring any bells? Oh, come on! You remember her! By all accounts, she was a disastrous manager from way back when. She left Covenant Aviation Security years ago to take a job with Good Will. Good for her! Oh wait! You didn't hear? That's right, SHE'S BACK!

Barbara Alvarenga is back and she is our new Assistant Terminal Manager! She will be back starting on Monday in which she will be auditing the next new hire class, presumedly to refresh her on the current SOP and what not.

Every time we think there's nothing Covenant Aviation Security can do to surprise us, they go ahead and find something to get us shaking and scratching our heads about.

And this next message is to all of the TSA and CAS management that read this blog. Let's be clear. This blog is not spreading information that the work force doesn't or won't eventually know about. Just because you, the management, know that we know, doesn't mean that we haven't always known about the things that take place. Trust us, we know. And we almost always find out. But since most of you are so out of touch with what goes on, you keep your heads buried in the sand and only when that hole collapses do you become aware. This blog has just coalesced it in to one easy to find place.