Are you enjoying your quarterly bonus?

Covenant Aviation, the profit before product company, announced last week that our quarterly bonus would be in our paychecks dated 5/29/15.

For screeners, that amounts to 83 cents per day; for supervisors it amounts to $1.66 per day.  Just how much did our stellar management team get?

Are you feeling appreciated? Are you motivated to provide "world class customer service"?  Or are you following the lead of our management team and are only in it for the money?

Once again, we will state the obvious:  "The quality of the only product that you have to offer is determined solely by the example set in place by management!"

And, as for you, Covenant Aviation:

We sincerely hope that your day of reckoning is fast approaching. We sincerely hope that your days of threats and intimidation will soon come to an end, at least at this airport.

Through the power of the internet, your reputation and style of management will precede you wherever you go.

Your complete and utter disregard for the well being of your employees and their families is well documented.  Your inability to effectively manage and supply a quality product will be your downfall.  Your pursuit of "Profit, at any cost, before Product" is deplorable.

At the very least, you should have been able to supply the stakeholders with what they so richly deserved -- an efficient and professional workforce that is second to none. You should have been able to inspire and motivate the workforce with your leadership and professionalism; sadly, you have not.

Let the chips fall where they may!

Are You Wondering Like We Are About.....

why February was a record month for promotions?  Are you wondering like we are about when the slots for these were created?  What are the real motives behind all of these promotions?

Did these promotional slots just appear out of nowhere?  Has the need for these promotions been there since last year, and have they been left vacant?

Let's see if we can make some sense out of all this.

What better way to diminish the impact of workforce hostility toward management than to have more than a few promotions?  What better way to attempt to change the focal point away from the give backs and take a ways?  What better way to, at the same time, have more overseers and policy enforcers?  What better way to identify and correct the conditions that prevent "world class customer service"?  What better way to soften the blow of the SEIU union dues increase to 2.3%?

This is a classic case of misdirection.  Let's throw the workforce a few bones! Let's try to increase our very slim chance of keeping this gravy train contract!

Let's show the workforce that we are not all bad.  Let's show them more than we have shown them before!

Well, Stormin Mike, it will not work.  There are still too many members of the workforce who are feeling real pain.  There are still too many members of the workforce who are trying to make ends meet.  There are still too many members of the workforce who have seen their monthly expenses skyrocket. And, most importantly, there are still too many members of the workforce who will not fall for this deception!

The biggest slap in the face, and we do mean the biggest, is that all of these promotions are being funded by our give backs and take a ways!

These promotions are being financed by the workforce, and not by CAS.  Covenant is hoping that we do not connect the dots and follow the money trail.  CAS does not want the workforce to see how these steps mainly benefit management and their pursuit of "Profit before Product."

The first step for a better tomorrow starts with getting SEIU removed.  How are we doing with that?  When do we sign on the dotted line?

A response to Stormin Mike from a reader

Well, our bonuses will be based on a statistical sample of the flying public. I believe that CAS management has skipped a step or two. 

It appears that the CAS process is to define a symptom, then punish the screener. I believe someone missed an important step. Someone failed to define the root cause.

I believe that the screeners are just a reflection of CAS managers' customer service skills. After all, the screeners are customers of CAS management. 

I'll give you an example of our general managers skills -- to quote from a memo dated December 12, 2012:  "Those of you who use Facebook to gloat, and encourage this despicable behavior are actually short-sighted." I don't know what he is talking about, but this is a bad start to my day. 

I would call this tantrum aggressive and rude.

In an effort to move towards problem resolution, I'll offer a suggestion. 

Let's take a statistically significant sample of the screening work force. Let them provide relevant feedback concerning management's customer service skills. This report might show the root problem.

For a company that professes to provide "world class customer service" and allegedly places "their highest priority on the well being of their employees", CAS falls woefully short. This type of report might change the attitude of management.  Maybe then they could EARN their exorbitant salaries. 

However, I won't hold my breath. As Mike says, "not everybody likes change." I guess it will be more of the same "do as I say, not as I do" attitude coming from the top.

Is this the final standing 8 count?

More embarrassment for our stellar management team led by Stormin Mike...

 http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/headline-9-investigates-contractor-blunder-our-orl/nWBGZ/

Uniform Allowance? Huh?

The TSA workforce has a uniform allowance that has just been raised to 446 dollars a year.

What uniform allowance do we get?  We can't even get them to buy us the shoes which are part of our uniform.



Greed at its finest! Just lies, lies, and more lies from our management and our union.


Under the labor agreement, TSA employees will see their uniform allowances nearly double to $446 per year.
http://republicans.transportation.house.gov/News/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1749

A Calculated Gamble By CAS

CAS is pulling out all the stops in their effort to get the TSA to pay them for the staffing that they provided for the re-opening of Terminal 2.  The attempts that have been made so far have produced zero results.  

Under the leadership of Mike Boles, who is the interim CAS president and has a "take no prisoners"approach, CAS has decided to "threaten" the workforce with drastic cuts in benefits.  The thinking here is, an unhappy and threaten workforce produces a substandard security product resulting in longer wait times for checkpoint and checked baggage screening.

Of course, this doesn't make the services that CAS provides to the TSA noteworthy, but CAS is in desperation mode.  At this point either the TSA pays CAS what the company feels it is owed or takes over the airport.  It's a gamble that CAS seems willing to take.  They are hemorrhaging money right now and they don't like it.

The question now is, who will blink first?  Will the SWAT team be called in?  Will our illustrious management team be handed its walking papers?

Pass the popcorn, the showdown is about to begin!    

Does anyone need anymore proof that...

a for profit company should not be running security operations at SFO? 

We have heard from both the checkpoint and baggage communities that CAS upper management has submitted a plan to reduce several of the benefits that are currently in place .

Isn't it nice to be so appreciated?  Isn't it nice to work for a company that puts making a "profit" their main focus?  Once again they have proven that, "they are just in it for the money."

Does anyone in upper management believe in our "mission"?  Have they ever believed in our mission?

CAS is overlooking how they are able to keep this contract for almost 10 years.  Is it their stellar management style?  Was it all their suggestions on how to improve security throughout the TSA?  Was it all the secret backroom meetings?  Just what was it?

Could it possibly have been the dedication and professionalism of the workforce?

What say you?

Letters, We Get Letters About Life in the SPP

We've recently been contacted by some people out in federal TSA land. They are worried about their airports' showing interest to go private and they are worried about their futures. One thing they want to know is if it's true there are no shift differentials at SFO, as reported at this blog. It seems that the differentials are an important part of their overall package.

Well, they are correct to worry and to start asking questions. John Pistole has been hinting that 10% higher costs in the SPP is not cost-effective in his eyes, which might give TSOs hope that Pistole will reject SPP applications. But in Washington, Pistole will be an army of one with that kind of thinking. In Washington, 10% is within reason. He's likely to lose in the long run (as planned by Obama's good pals in labor, of course). The possible exception is small airports where the contractors can't cut essential staff and claim enough efficiencies to pocket the difference.

Our new contacts have honed in on a very important detail. Where's the differential? It must be implemented, and it must be factored in!

Uncles Mike and Gerry Want YOU!

In light of John Pistole's recent announcement of no new privatized airports, Mike Bolles and Gerry Berry want to enlist you. Enlist you in what? Think about it. Because of this recent decision by Administrator Pisole, there is little growth potential for Covenant Aviation Security. And if the worst case scenario happens, then there will be virtually no business model for Covenant Aviation Security. Oh, ok, they'll still have the perimeter guard contracts such as the one at JFK. Oh wait...never mind...

Anywho, Uncle Mike and Uncle Gerry sent out an email to CAS employees basically begging employees to contact their Senators and support Senator Roy Blunt's Amendment to ATSA requiring the TSA to approve opt-out contracts to airports that wish to opt-out. Uncle Mike even went so far as to have a form letter written for you, in case you were too busy selling jewelry or something.

By the way Uncle Mike and Uncle Gerry, you guys really should know better than suggesting sending an email. That's so 1995! You know, when "important" people actually read their emails from plebs. If you want to make any sort of an impact you have to do it 1895 old school style: registered mail!

The official blog of TSA has also commented on the whole SPP issue as well.

Without further ado and for your enjoyment, the emails from Uncles Mike and Gerry: