Business As Usual!

It seems that CAS is at it again. Names are being circulated around concerning a position that has not yet been posted and for one that was recently announced.

From the information that was supplied to us, these people are on levels and are management favorites.

When, if ever, will CAS change their ways? We keep hoping that this company will start doing the right thing. But, it doesn't appear to be part of the corporate culture. The sad thing is that it starts at the top.

Employee Appreciation Day Starts Tomorrow!

What happens when you miss getting the work schedule that you want by one slot? Would you be upset? Of course you would!

With the number of promotions that will be announced "after" the bidding takes place there is the possibility that your seniority number would have been bumped up.

Being bumped up one or two slots would have allowed you to get the schedule that you want for the next six months! Once again management has stuck it to the workforce.

So, when thinking of how the company shows their appreciation to the workforce, think about how you missed getting what you want by one slot.

Oh, we almost forgot! What is our wonderful union doing about this?

The Case of the Missing SOPs

As much as we love to rail against the ineptitude of the CAS management, we have equal feelings when it comes to TSA. One must remember that the number one objective of any good bureaucrat is to maintain the status quo. A good bureaucrat starts his or her day thinking one thing: "What do I have to do to ensure that everything stays the same?" Because change can not only be frightening, it might also mean that it will require more work and effort on one's part. Which means that the good bureaucrat will do whatever in order to avoid change.  Not maintaining the status quo could potentially lead to opportunities of being terminated.

So what is the deal with the missing SOPs? It turns out that TSA HQ wants airports to lock down the access to SOPs and want a daily accounting of those SOPs. Being the good bureaucrat that Ed Gomez is, and don't let his grandfatherly facade fool you otherwise, he had to deal with this order from his bosses. Instead of making use of the several hundreds of thousands of tax payers' dollars that are spent every year on those TSA suits by giving them something to do, he opted to have them removed from all of the locations. Now that those books are in one central location, it's very easy to have a daily accounting for the SOPs. Simple, yes?

The next time you or or your STSO have a question about SOP and can not easily get an answer, you know who to blame.

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?

Will anyone ever review the bid lines?

Can we have someone, before it is posted, review the bid lines? How many times will they let this person keep making mistakes before they replace him? And, what is this statement saying that they will put footnotes on Ascent instead of making bid line changes to correct their mistakes?

And where is our wonderful union? Shouldn't they be dealing with this ? Exactly what is it that they do for us? Oh, that's right, they are too busy making campaign contributions, attending fundraisers and making backroom deals.