8 ms·

T.S.A. Agents Refuse to Work During Shutdown, Raising Fears of Airport Turmoil

8 points by smacktoward 8y ago

joezydeco 8y ago
All 51,000 agents should stay home for one week and bring the country to a grinding halt. That would result in some progress from Congress.
- lj3 8y ago
  > and bring the country to a grinding halt. And if it didn't come to a grinding halt? They risk demonstrating how worthless their jobs are.
  - gremlinsinc 8y ago
    If their jobs are indeed worthless, then it's a win, in that we can save tax-payer dollars for worthless jobs.
- sundayedition 8y ago
  Refusal to work as a federal employee, especially if you're in a national security position, might be risky. PATCO comes to mind. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organization_(1968) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Con...
  - joezydeco 8y ago
    PATCO was a general strike, which was illegal. If every worker collectively decides to call in sick, would they be faced with the same retaliation?
mhb 8y ago
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, airports became completely different places. Young people have no idea what an airport used to be like. They'll never know what it's like to travel without having to first submit to a humiliating security check. They'll never know what it was like to say goodbye to your friends and family at the gate, rather than at the front doors of the airport, or to greet them at the gate when they arrived. ... To earn a living groping us, taking body scanner photos of us that can see through our clothes, patting-down our wives and children. The government shutdown is making it hard for the TSA to earn a living detaining us. They're the victims. http://www.stationarywaves.com/2019/01/topsy-turvy.html http://www.stationarywaves.com/2019/01/topsy-turvy.html
- apacheCamel 8y ago
  But isn't this a problem with the actual TSA and its policies instead of the workers who just follow them? These are still real people who have to rely on their paychecks to live.
  - RPLong 8y ago
    You surely aren't suggesting that these employees have no say in which job they get, right? I mean, I personally don't have a job that requires me to grope and/or detain people. I personally wouldn't seek such a job. That raises the question: what kind of person would choose that job over any other, especially when government shutdowns and foregone wages are a known risk of employment?
    - apacheCamel 8y ago
      Now I am unsure of what field you are in, but not everybody has the same flexibility in terms of job availability. I agree with you in saying that I would never choose such a job but when it may be one of the few options available, with good pay, how could you say no? If you have a family to provide for, then you need to do it. What if these workers don't agree with the policies and joined the TSA to try and change it for the better? You are talking down to an entire workforce as if they all are actively behind its policies and actions.
      - mhb 8y ago
        You can see how your argument might elicit a counterargument consistent with Godwin's law, right?
        apacheCamel 8y ago
        I am not familiar. From a quick search it seems like the longer a discussion happens, the probability increase. Other than just commenting again, I do not see how this relates to the discussion at all.
gremlinsinc 8y ago
The irony... Trump closes govt because of national security concerns (border wall/terrorism)... TSA agents are pretty high on the list of jobs that protect us from terrorism, and I guarantee more important than a damn border wall.
- marklyon 8y ago
  > high on the list of jobs that protect us from terrorism I'm not certain your statement is accurate. The TSA has itself demonstrated, time and time again, that their accuracy and precision leave much to be desired. If anything, they've been lucky. Terrorism, thankfully, is quite rare. If anything, I hope the shutdown helps push airports and airlines to seek control of their infrastructure (and, with luck, this administration will help diminish the power of the executive branch in the future).
  - gremlinsinc 8y ago
    Police officers stop criminals... they also have major issues with brutality/etc...and have a bad track record...something like 4000 people were shot by police last year... I wouldn't say we should get rid of police or that they don't provide a service because of those issues...just that they need to reform/change/fix those issues. Not sure, how they do that... My point is the TSA, while it often does some shitty/shady stuff in the name of 'security'... I don't think you could say they have never thwarted terrorist attacks, or that we as a nation could flourish without them at all. I don't really have statistics on TSA/etc... but I think making sure people don't have guns on planes is a bit more important than building a wall that can be scaled via ladder, or tunneled under. But it's just ironic to me that by not getting his wall, the TSA is now basically on strike.
- RickJWagner 8y ago
  Plenty of people see it as the Democrats in Congress who are holding things up. (After all, there is universal agreement that border security is important. Also, many prominent Democrats have pledged support for physical barriers in the recent past.) I tend to agree with Cher, which doesn't happen often. She says that Democrats can be seen as heroes if they compromise on the wall to re-open the government. (But if they do not do this, Cher believes the Democrats will ultimately suffer for the fallout.) Time may tell if she is right or not.

8 points by smacktoward 8y ago

All 51,000 agents should stay home for one week and bring the country to a grinding halt. That would result in some progress from Congress.

lj3 8y ago
> and bring the country to a grinding halt. And if it didn't come to a grinding halt? They risk demonstrating how worthless their jobs are.
- gremlinsinc 8y ago
  If their jobs are indeed worthless, then it's a win, in that we can save tax-payer dollars for worthless jobs.
sundayedition 8y ago
Refusal to work as a federal employee, especially if you're in a national security position, might be risky. PATCO comes to mind. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organization_(1968) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Con...
- joezydeco 8y ago
  PATCO was a general strike, which was illegal. If every worker collectively decides to call in sick, would they be faced with the same retaliation?

mhb 8y ago

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, airports became completely different places. Young people have no idea what an airport used to be like. They'll never know what it's like to travel without having to first submit to a humiliating security check. They'll never know what it was like to say goodbye to your friends and family at the gate, rather than at the front doors of the airport, or to greet them at the gate when they arrived. ... To earn a living groping us, taking body scanner photos of us that can see through our clothes, patting-down our wives and children. The government shutdown is making it hard for the TSA to earn a living detaining us. They're the victims. http://www.stationarywaves.com/2019/01/topsy-turvy.html http://www.stationarywaves.com/2019/01/topsy-turvy.html

apacheCamel 8y ago
But isn't this a problem with the actual TSA and its policies instead of the workers who just follow them? These are still real people who have to rely on their paychecks to live.
- RPLong 8y ago
  You surely aren't suggesting that these employees have no say in which job they get, right? I mean, I personally don't have a job that requires me to grope and/or detain people. I personally wouldn't seek such a job. That raises the question: what kind of person would choose that job over any other, especially when government shutdowns and foregone wages are a known risk of employment?
  - apacheCamel 8y ago
    Now I am unsure of what field you are in, but not everybody has the same flexibility in terms of job availability. I agree with you in saying that I would never choose such a job but when it may be one of the few options available, with good pay, how could you say no? If you have a family to provide for, then you need to do it. What if these workers don't agree with the policies and joined the TSA to try and change it for the better? You are talking down to an entire workforce as if they all are actively behind its policies and actions.
    - mhb 8y ago
      You can see how your argument might elicit a counterargument consistent with Godwin's law, right?
      - apacheCamel 8y ago
        I am not familiar. From a quick search it seems like the longer a discussion happens, the probability increase. Other than just commenting again, I do not see how this relates to the discussion at all.

gremlinsinc 8y ago

The irony... Trump closes govt because of national security concerns (border wall/terrorism)... TSA agents are pretty high on the list of jobs that protect us from terrorism, and I guarantee more important than a damn border wall.

marklyon 8y ago
> high on the list of jobs that protect us from terrorism I'm not certain your statement is accurate. The TSA has itself demonstrated, time and time again, that their accuracy and precision leave much to be desired. If anything, they've been lucky. Terrorism, thankfully, is quite rare. If anything, I hope the shutdown helps push airports and airlines to seek control of their infrastructure (and, with luck, this administration will help diminish the power of the executive branch in the future).
- gremlinsinc 8y ago
  Police officers stop criminals... they also have major issues with brutality/etc...and have a bad track record...something like 4000 people were shot by police last year... I wouldn't say we should get rid of police or that they don't provide a service because of those issues...just that they need to reform/change/fix those issues. Not sure, how they do that... My point is the TSA, while it often does some shitty/shady stuff in the name of 'security'... I don't think you could say they have never thwarted terrorist attacks, or that we as a nation could flourish without them at all. I don't really have statistics on TSA/etc... but I think making sure people don't have guns on planes is a bit more important than building a wall that can be scaled via ladder, or tunneled under. But it's just ironic to me that by not getting his wall, the TSA is now basically on strike.
RickJWagner 8y ago
Plenty of people see it as the Democrats in Congress who are holding things up. (After all, there is universal agreement that border security is important. Also, many prominent Democrats have pledged support for physical barriers in the recent past.) I tend to agree with Cher, which doesn't happen often. She says that Democrats can be seen as heroes if they compromise on the wall to re-open the government. (But if they do not do this, Cher believes the Democrats will ultimately suffer for the fallout.) Time may tell if she is right or not.