Airport screeners need tighter management, vision

By Andrea Kay
Gannett News Service

You and I never see some of the most important workers in the world.

They are the inspectors and testers who, as the U.S. Department of Labor describes them, "ensure that your food will not make you sick, that your car will run properly and that your pants will not split the first time you wear them."

Behind the scenes, they tighten bolts, do safety checks and see if a process or product "passes" or "fails.'

Even though automated inspection has increased, live humans still operate these tools and machines. And with the increased emphasis on quality, the demand for inspectors has increased.

We do, though, see these workers in action at our airports, where in 2002, more than 55,000 people were hired to become screeners under the newly formed Transportation Security Administration. With the aid of machines, they inspect our bodies, baggage and cargo to see if they pass or fail to meet the criteria set to protect us.

Well, last week I didn't like what I saw.

Traveling through a major airport, I saw a screener — someone who is supposed to be cautiously eyeing us pass through security — sleeping in her chair.

In the food court area, I sat next to a table of Transportation Security Administration workers taking breaks. One manager repeatedly grabbed a female worker's knees. Three workers were hanging on to each other around the neck, and two were yapping on cell phones about how bad work is today.

I know they're on break, but please: Can't they be more professional while wearing their uniform of authority so I — not to mention a would-be terrorist — would take them seriously?

Much has been written about the difficult working conditions of these workers. "Fatigue, fear and confusion undermine the work of federal screeners, creating a daily risk of another major breakdown," says Steve Miletich in his article in The Seattle Times last month.

In the article and in interviews of Transportation Security Administration employees by The Seattle Times, they describe a workplace "defined by intimidation, pettiness and marching orders that fluctuate by supervisor, shift and airport."

These federal workers "stand a good chance of being berated by bosses, harassed on the job, injured while lugging heavy bags, ordered to work extra hours or cheated on their pay."

An internal Transportation Security Administration memo obtained by The Seattle Times and cited in the article validates screeners complaints to the agency and others and warns that Transportation Security Administration has subjected screeners, " 'our most valuable resource,' to a litany of abuses."

Government inspectors have also faulted the Transportation Security Administration for insufficient training and lax certification requirements.

As with any worker who has been given responsibility to screen or inspect something to ensure safety, it is absolutely inexcusable for these workers to do their job without the utmost commitment. Sleeping on the job is not an option. Nor is acting like adolescents among the public that you're serving.

And it's not surprising to hear that "employees worry more about losing their job than doing it well," watching "their backs as much as the X-ray images before them."

Management better get its act together so it and its workers can live up to their mission to protect "the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce" and their vision to "continuously set the standard for excellence in transportation security through its people, processes and technologies."

Just as we do with the people who tighten the bolts and inspect the pistons and engines on the cars we buy, we're counting on you.

Reach Andrea Kay at No. 133, 2692 Madison Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45208; www.andreakay.com; andrea@andreakay.com.