Covenant Aviation and the Art of Deception!

Tours of the Checkpoint and Baggage screening locations of Covenant Aviation in SFO are being lead by local TSA. So Covenant, ever wanting to give the appearance of a professional and well-managed company, has decided to put fresh lipstick on this pig!

We were told not to speak to any members of the tour group (in order to keep our trade secrets from getting out). What, if any, trade secrets do we have? How about none!  We follow, or at least should follow, the exact same SOP. 

Which brings us to this question: Why are other airports thinking of opting out of the TSA screening program and considering going to private contractors?  If we all follow the exact same SOP, there should be no difference in wait times or performance! In fact, a private contractor's main objective is to generate a profit at the expense of their employees. Worker morale and motivation deteriorates as more and more is taken away from the employees! These airports should seriously reconsider this course of action. Be careful what you wish for.

Over the years, the Covenant Aviation management team has shown us their true colors.

 

They have shown us that they purportedly value integrity, but display none themselves. 

They have shown us their capacity to deny accountability by pointing the finger of blame at someone else, instead of looking inward. 

They have consistently shown us the value they place on profit, regardless of employee satisfaction or quality of product.

They have shown us their lack of appreciation and respect for the workforce that allowed them to extend their contract by a full decade. 

They have shown us their willingness to disregard the complaints of the workforce by turning a blind eye and a deaf ear.

They have shown us their true colors, and it is not a pretty picture. 

So, what is CAS up to?

In less than 2 weeks the new FSD will be on board. Will CAS keep this adversarial relationship with the TSA in place? What are the real reasons behind this openly defiant posture? And why are they doing it now?

For over 8 years CAS has fully complied with the TSA, whether or not, it was written into the contract. Their position now is, "if it is not in the contract, we will not do it!" What is their "ace" in the hole?

And, where is Gerry Berry? Normally, during our Thanksgiving and Xmas luncheon, he is here shaking hands and pretending that he cares about us. Is he out there fanning the flames to have the TSA allow more airports to opt out? Is he planning a strategy with his blood brother Rep. John Mica? Let's see how this all plays out!

The Value of the 5 year SFO contract is now....

up to 455 million and still counting!

The TSA and CAS agreed to an increase in the contract value and that, my friends, is why the long overdue promotions are finally being doled out.

Let's see, whom do we like for promotions? Boyfriends, Girlfriends, Suck ups, Friend of a friend, kissing cousins, card playing buddies.....did we leave anyone out?

CAS is now telling us how to spend our money!

Management has decided to require us to wear a certain type of shoe without any visible logo. That would be fine if they were paying for these shoes. But when we have to use our own money to meet this requirement they are going too far.

They have a very selective memory when it comes to what constitutes uniform apparel. Shoes are part of the uniform. Money for our shoes is in the budget; unfortunately for us, they have found another use for it. And that use is to line their own pockets.

TSA, we are waiting for you to step in to show CAS the error of their ways.

We have been asked to explain....

We have been asked to explain just why we feel that the TSA Administrator "caved" in to Rep. John Mica.

Some of our earlier postings outlined the position of Mr. Mica, and even highlighted and challenged his statement saying," “I have also asked GAO to continue to review what other factors gave the all-government model a cost advantage. It is my intent to make certain that TSA cannot arbitrarily deny any future application from an airport to participate in the private screening program. “I am confident that the private sector can not only perform better, but do so at a lower cost to the taxpayers.”

It is very obvious that he is using SFO in his comparisons to the TSA workforce. Or, do any of you really think that he is using any of the other 15?

Mica also stated, "Nearly every positive security innovation since the beginning of TSA has come from the contractor screening program. I intend to launch a full investigation and review of this matter."

Once again we challenged that statement and asked for proof of the "positive security innovations" that came from us or any of the other 15.

We are still waiting for evidence that Mr. John L. Mica must produced to back up these statements.

A letter sent out by TSA to one of you, asking why TSA has not federalized SFO, generated, almost word for word, the exact position of John Mica. "Administrator Pistole affirmed that the current airports participating in SPP remain a valuable resource to be utilized as a comparison between private and Federal screening operations, as well as a tool to generate innovation in operations."

Notice how quiet Mr. John L. Mica has been after CAS was awarded a new 5 year contract?

The power of Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, The San Francisco Airport Commission and, let us not forget, the substantial contributions to re-election campaigns that SEIU made, and will continue to make, to the Democratic Party.

Money and influence pedaling at its best!

It's not about doing the right thing and it never has been. It's about special interest groups with special agendas. When will someone stand up and put the safety of the flying public first and foremost?

The Silence is Deafening!

Isn't it strange that the mouth that roared has stopped roaring? Of course, we are talking about Rep. John Mica. Was his crusade against TSA just made to deter a federal takeover of SFO? What better way to accomplish your goal than to attack TSA as an out of control agency that had to be stopped!

How many times has he been quoted extolling the value of private contractors in providing airport security? Yeah, the 16 airports that are part of the SPP are a shining example of the best that money can buy. Let's see, Tupelo, MS., Jackson Hole, WY., Sioux Falls, S.D. are just a few of the shining examples.

We all know that his main target was SFO on behalf of his blood brother Gerry Berry of Winter Springs, Fla.

So, was SFO the payment to get him to stop his onslaught? Or, will he help blood brother Gerry get more airports by continuing his campaign? We are certainly surprised, but not shocked, that TSA caved in. To be continued.....

Optional Training

The federal government spends billions every year on contracts. But some items on the Government Accountability Office website (www.gao.gov) make me wonder about the quality of the purchasing decisions.

The GAO offers a course "Principles of Appropriations Law Training - An Orientation to Federal Fiscal Law". The website states:

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Who Should Attend

• Government personnel with finance, accounting, contracting, budgeting, property management, auditing, or legal responsibilities

Who has attended

• Recent attendees include staff from the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor and State, the Federal Aviation Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, and the Library of Congress, as well as Army, Navy and Joint Chiefs staff and staff from other Defense Department components

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No TSA? No FBI (Pistole's previous agency)?

Are you kidding me?

No wonder TSA's solicitations are chock full of broken links, questionable legal proclamations and apologetic "bridge contracts". It may be because TSA doesn't know any better!

Why Does the CBA Go Three Years?

Ever wondered why the SEIU Local ???? (790?)(1877?)(USWW?)/Covenant collective bargaining agreements are effective for three years? So if everything goes to hell from Octobr 1 in year two and on into year three when the TSA rolls out a "bridge contract", can anything be done? Why is that?

It's because workers have rights!

Say what? It's all about the timing to vote OUT the union, or bring in a different representative.
It's about the union containing your ability to remove them.

Here are some guidelines to follow. For specifics, or exceptions, an attorney consultation may be useful.

Contract of less than three years in duration: stability in labor-management relations overrides employee free choice of representative. There will be a window period toward the end of the contract during which a petition to remove or replace the current union can be filed.

Contracts longer than three years - may have a window period during year three, and a petition can be filed at any time in year four and onward; here employee free choice trumps stability in labor management relations. Many unions avoid contracts longer than three years for this reason.

The practical effect of these "rights" is that employers will recognize that unions want contracts to be two years eleven months and 31 days in length. They will then try to extract concessions from the union in exchange for their preferred contract length.

Now at SFO, they try to make us believe contract length was the last thing hammered out. Yet, they always end up the same length. Draw your own conclusions.

See, you've got rights! You might not survive the toil to exercise them, but trust me, they're there.

Next time - what's that other petition?