Return to Article: Senate drops effort to grant airport screeners bargaining rights
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28761
I personally appreciate the job that you and your fellow employees are doing. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but every opinion is not equally valid, or important. Thanks again!
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28753
I am highly offended by Dan Ketter's remarks. How many people do you know will do their best to keep you and your family safe by looking for bombs and prohibited items for $12.00 an hour? Some of the locations I work in at my airport do not have AC or heat. I do not get time while working to write or read emails or comments. I get items thrown at me, people yelling and cursing at me and have back aches from lifting 80 pound bags and from constant bending. We also work 365 days a year and miss out on time with family. We also are forced to stay until the last plane leaves which can make it over 14 hour days. I am proud to help keep the public safe. Thank God there are REAL people who do appreciate what I do. I also was a victim of the Identity Theft situation in which the Govt. "lost" my personal info. They gave us 1 year of monitoring services. What do I do for the next 30 years or so? The govt. is not giving me a new SS number.. Dan, I AM A FEMALE SCREENER WHO MOVES THE BAGS FOR INSPECTION AMONG OTHER DUTIES. I train new people, other screeners on IED's and have a 4 year college degree. I am not getting a "FREE LUNCH" or sitting home collecting money by not working. I have been a CS for 10 years and would not change that! All screeners want is to be treated fairly, with respect and have safe, healthy working environments and be compensated for what we are there to do. We are tested on our skills every 3 months in order to keep our jobs. We must always be up to date on issues and always be on "ALERT". Come work with me for a week and see how you feel then.
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28639
Gee, Mr. Ketter, can you spell "ad hominem"? Guess you proved my point about off topic posters. It's obvious that you have never worked for the federal government, or your ignorance wouldn't be showing. Just for the record, I carried a firearm, qualified 4xs per year, had police powers, made many drug arrests, so what? Read my original post again, you just might learn something.
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28565
Was that guarantee of union rep in the Preamble of the Constitution ?? I must have missed it. I noticed you aren't concerned about value to the taxpayer as usual its the what's in it for me mentality. As a senior inspector, did you get to carry a gun or just the whistle?
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28546
Off issue! The article deals with the basic American guarantee of fair union representation, not stress, not job demands, not gender. Stop the pontificating. Since retirement, I've traveled overseas and domestically, and, without except applaud the TSA workers. The're far better than the obnoxious "square badges" I observed for many years at my airport. President Shrub has been trying (and suceeding)to gut the civil service system. In this case, the White House claims national security. What a crock! TSA employees are civilians, NOT military, period. Wake up America, we're still losing.
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28431
OK kids, stop punching each other! Those who haven't worked for the federal government, find another website to post to. Those who are still employed, and hoping to retire eventually, keep the peace. Let old "retirees" like me, with most of my working life as a fed comment. All workers, private or civil (IMO)need and deserve the protections of labor unions. Even the so-called LEOs have 'associations' that promote their needs. TSA is still, despite it's problems, a better deal than the infamous 'square badges' stationed at airports and other public facilities. Stop picking the scabs, unite and protect our country.
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28396
Ohhh man the whining continues.... 6 1/2 years in an administration that despises the fed work force?? What's the basis for the statement, I assume you meet regularly with the Bush's cabinet, think our panty hose are on too tight. I notice all the postings are on government time so we can't be too busy.
Dave I hear you but I never see a complaint on this site other than the feather merchants. The point was the whole issue of stress leave no where else do people get time off for such a lame excuse. I've witness box packers, truck drivers and even HR folks off for stress leave. Maybe if they worked for a living they wouldn't have time to cry
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28380
Dan,
Your comments are generalized and do not hold much merit. I am a "Civil Servant", a Federal Agent to be exact. Our line of work is not low skill. I work with many highly skilled federal employees that do not whine and complain. The military and CS are the same, you find a little bit of everything. In the military, as an NCO, I also saw plenty of "endless whinning and looking for a free lunch, getting paid and not working."
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28361
Interesting that Dan assumes it is a "gal" from HR. Only someone from a certain generation would assume HR are all "gals." I'm certainly not a "gal."
In HR we deal with alot of the stress of the civil service since we are the one's dealing with leave issues, discipline, performance problems etc... that come to us daily from line managers all over the organizations. We see all the worst that the federal government has to offer to its employees.
I find it most interesting that Dan talks about whining civil servants and before that it was whining Congressional representatives in the Democratic Party.
I've experienced six and a half years of HR in an administration that despises it own career employees. Yes, there is a bit of whining but underneath is the steel to do the mission despite the political hacks who would destroy the organizations. Most career civil servants fully understand they work for the good of the American Public and hunker down despite their political bosses who are incompetent and self-serving.
I urge folks to view the big picture and give credit to a Civil Service which has been beaten to an inch of its life by an administration with an agenda to kill it.
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28284
I keep reading about stress and on the job injuries, the only place you read about this huge concern is with our Civil Servants. The gal from HR thinks her job and others are hard, thats the real issue, their imaginary complaints. When I go thru the check points I'm the 1 moving my bags to the tables for inspections not TSA, what about all the ladies at the Air Line counter that move the bags? I've never read or heard about all their injuries, the problem is civil servants and their endless whinning and looking for a free lunch, getting paid and not working. There is nothing unique, hard or emotional draining about screeners its a job and if its to hard on you quit as for all the stats on number of bags and passengers how many folks do the airlines employ to do the same job.
As for ATC the military uses E-5 and 6's to do the same job for 1/3 of the pay. The real issue here is the mentality that CS come to work every day and put in there time and get paid, they don't have to sell, make or design anything lets face it they are all low skill jobs.
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28195
This is all about eliminating the federal workforce and nothing more. In the end it will all be run by contractors and thier unions calling all the shots with the ability and right to strike as they deem fit.
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28145
I'm glad Dan wrote this. There is no imaginary stress to being an air traffic controller, security guard or TSA screener, or any kind of public safety officer.
The stress of certain occupations is real and it is a stress I deal with in HR every day. And yes, you can have horrible working conditions sitting in an air conditionered airport-- or should it be said standing for eight hours a day and being forced into multiple shifts because many of the co-workers are out on SL or FMLA due to the stress-- and there are never enough staff for budgetary reasons to cover, the pay is low and you have deal with the complaining sometimes nasty travelors who don't have a clue of the regs.
It amazes me sometimes that people who have never even really talked to a public safety officer about their working conditions can voice such strong negative opinions on things they know nothing about-- Unions can at least soften a little of their working condition issues.
It is really too bad HR is out of the BU since we certainly could use a union after the way us HR folks have been treated over these past two decades.
And I repeat, only a scrooge, anti-employee humbug individual would deny a little aid to folks like TSA screeners. Dan, you want to really know what life is like on the line for public safety officers, go take a day and stand with them or go out on patrol for an 8-10 hour shift. I did. Maybe than you will stop writing about imaginary stress.
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28100
Comments like that of dan ketter are proof of the ignorance of the american people regarding TSA screeners and the job we perform. In 2006 alone We screened 708,400,522 passengers, 535,020,271 pieces of checked luggage (not counting bags screened at check points)all that with only 43,000 officers. NO other federal or local agency does that kind of back breaking, injury prone job. This bill was our only hope to make TSA commit on better work conditions, a just and objective grievance process with independent resources, not people hired by TSA. Next time you are inside an airplane remember that the people you belitlered are the people trying to avoid another 9/11. Never forget.
Is a shame how the democrats sold out the working class, we expected that form the republicans but not from you. How fast you forget your campaingn promises when you were asking for the AFGE and the screeners back up, compromising yourselves to better our working conditions. It is sad that democrats and republicans,in deep end, are the same.
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28099
TSA Officers have had the highest rate of reported injury among all Federal employees, yet they have also had to put up with endless yammering about how easy their jobs are from people who have no real concept of what those jobs entail.
The TSA employees I've worked with over the past few years have been as uniformly smart, hard working, professional, and dedicated to serving their country as any other DHS employees; yet, let 'em join a union, and that's the end of democracy?
Come on.
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28096
I do not believe any govt. employees have a right to bargaining rights. If they were in the private sector ok. Those of us who have served in military do not have and do not expect bargaining rights.
As far as impeaching President Bush and charging congress for doing nothing, I believe certain members of congress should be charged with treason under the Constitution for aiding, abeting, and giving comfort to the enemy. Whether you believe it or not we are at war.
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28092
this is a shame, we at TSA have been waiting for our rights.Know we are screwed. You see at this time we officers are held by one set of standers while upper management are held by a different set of standards. What I mean is that we officers are held accountable for all our actions while our administration do as they please and can terminate and promote who they want and have too answer to no-one.Example if an officer had lost a hard drive they would have been terminated on the spot yet to this date nothing has happened to the person/ persons responsible for loosing over 100,000 employees personal information nor will anyone be held accountable for this. Were is the justice.
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28089
We shall see the highy paid appointees of this administration back in court again, defending what has already been ruled against the Department of Homeland Security by the United States Court of Appeals. I just don't know what part of the ruling they don't understand.
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28088
The Bush Administration and the Democrats should be ashamed!!! Impeach Bush and change all the spineless Democrat majority for doing either bad things or nothing, both are wrong!
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28073
Horrible working conditions ??? sitting in an air conditioned terminal and sending folks thru a machine is a tough job.. Please. I think the reason why is the large number of Federal Workers who are eligable for early retirement after 20 years like air traffic controllers and security cops who complain about stress and adding another bunch of workers to this mix.
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28061
The Democrat majority has to say enough is enough. I am sick and tired of allowing this administration to have their way regardless of their wrongdoing. Impeachment must be put back on the table. Noting that was promised for working people is being fulfilled based on threats of vetos. So what if you threaten with a veto. Do the work of the people anyway. And if the administration wishes to veto, let them, and send it right back to them without any changes. The GOP are a bunch of two-faced individuals. When they were the majority, they enforced a no fillibuster policy, now since they are no longer the majority, that's all they do is fillibuster everything they disagree with. To this day I am still attempting to understand the GOP reasoning that insist that if Federal Workers, TSA included have collective bargaining rights, then these workers suddenly become a threat to national security. Can anyone explain this? Once again I say put Impeachment back on the table NOW.
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28044
When Republicans hold up a bill that would help secure the nation because it doesn't want TSA workers to have rights it tells you all you need to know.
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28038
I don't understand at what point membership in a union and the ability to bargain collectively over working conditions became synonymous with some type of subversion and destruction of this country.
Who do think is keeping this government functioning? The political hacks that are appointed to reward them for supporting and funding this incompetent administration. I don't think so.
It is the rank and file federal employee who goes to work every day and does his/ her job while there agency heads are insulting them and trying to trying help undo 50 years of labor relations.
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28033
Of all the federal employees in the government-- these screeners are the type of federal employees that most need collective bargaining rights. A critical job which is Low pay/long hours/horrible working conditions. When Wackenhut guards screened airline passengers they were unionized. Only the most anti-employee, heartless scrooge would deny such rights to these employees and continue to fight for what is so wrong.
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28030
If you are an airplane pilot and fly an airplane, you can join a union and bargain collectively. If you are a flight attendant, you can join with your coworkers and organize a union. Mechanics work on the engines of an airplane and baggage handlers work inside the cockles of an airplane and they have union rights.
But if you are a airport screener you cannot join a union because of "national security." Why is this?
The real reason is because airport screeners are Federal Employees and their boss is George W. Bush.
The right to organize into a union; to sit down with your employer and bargain collectively; to file a grievance when you experience injustice in the workplace -- these are human rights that should honored and respected.
Shame on the Bush Administration!
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28023
Granting basic rights to the TSA employees will not weaken out national security. If any affect it will strengthen our national security because highly motivated employees always do a better job! The legislative move appears to be a bad move that will only delay what is inevitable, that is TSA employees will some day win their union rights.
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27995
Bush threatened to take his ball and go home. Congress bought it and continues to play his game of denying workers rights.
Shame on them, and same on us for allowing this to continue.
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