iad51fl From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 343 posts, RR: 3 Reply 2, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 2957 times:
I agree, the FSD's at airports have the excess employees walk around and pretend that they are doing something.... supposedly looks better than them standing around the checkpoint.
9 times out of 10 they are on their cellphone either talking or texting. Heaven forbid them reducing their headcount.
Cubsrule From United States of America, joined May 2004, 21289 posts, RR: 19 Reply 3, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 6 hours ago) and read 2924 times:
Quoting jetblast (Reply 1): They are doing absolutely nothing as per usual, trying to maintain their viability as employees.
To play devil's advocate for a minute, I know that at my home airport (and at most airports I use regularly), the demand for checkpoint screening ebbs and flows. If there's an hour or two where TSOs aren't needed at checkpoints - but they are needed on either side of that hour, what sort of activities would you propose?
I can't decide whether I miss the tulip or the bowling shoe more
spacecadet From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 3277 posts, RR: 14 Reply 5, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 6 hours ago) and read 2807 times:
Quoting kaitak (Reply 4): Joking apart, I guess their duties go beyond just checkpoints; they have to be visible at all parts of the airport.
I disagree. Their mandate is to provide security on public forms of transportation. Stalking rental car areas would seem to fall outside of that mandate. And it's a slippery slope. Government agencies like this - especially ones focusing on security - have a tendency to experience "mission creep", whereby rather than ever reducing manpower, they will instead find new missions for the agency to justify maintaining current staffing levels, and those new missions then require more manpower, and repeat ad infinitum.
The TSA's web site already says its job is to provide security on the nation's "transportation systems", which seems much broader than the intent when the agency was created by congress, which was simply to replace the multiple private airport screening companies with a more accountable and single public agency. The TSA could argue that rental car agencies are a "transportation system", as are commuter train lines, as are city taxis, as is the car in your garage. Are we eventually going to be okay with the TSA hanging around our driveways looking for anything suspicious on our private vehicles?
I was in favor of the TSA when the agency was first created and I'm in favor of common sense airport security, but they have just been getting ridiculous lately. And enough is enough.
I would suggest that rather than sending TSA agents fanning out all over the place for the sake of "visibility" when they're otherwise unoccupied, that shifts be cut in half and staffing reduced during slower periods. There's no law that says every TSA position needs to be full time. (And in fact, even now many aren't - I applied to be a part time TSA screener when I was unemployed a few years ago.)
I'm tired of being a wanna-be league bowler. I wanna be a league bowler!
nyc2theworld From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 653 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 6 hours ago) and read 2780 times:
Quoting Cubsrule (Reply 3): To play devil's advocate for a minute, I know that at my home airport (and at most airports I use regularly), the demand for checkpoint screening ebbs and flows. If there's an hour or two where TSOs aren't needed at checkpoints - but they are needed on either side of that hour, what sort of activities would you propose?
Schedule their lunch time in their break room. Make them hourly employees and schedule so shift ends at low tide. If retail can figure out when their busy time is and schedule staff appropriately during the day/week/month/year, why can't the TSA?
Always wonderers if this "last and final boarding call" is in fact THE last and final boarding call.
Cubsrule From United States of America, joined May 2004, 21289 posts, RR: 19 Reply 7, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 2770 times:
Quoting nyc2theworld (Reply 6): If retail can figure out when their busy time is and schedule staff appropriately during the day/week/month/year, why can't the TSA?
No retail stoe that is busy until 1:00 and then again at 2:00 is going to send everyone home for an hour. Schedule lunch? Sure - and TSA already does that - but you can't fill every gap wtih a meal.
Quoting spacecadet (Reply 5): The TSA could argue that rental car agencies are a "transportation system", as are commuter train lines, as are city taxis, as is the car in your garage. Are we eventually going to be okay with the TSA hanging around our driveways looking for anything suspicious on our private vehicles?
TSA works - and has worked for some time - with passenger rail, both commuter and Amtrak.
[Edited 2010-11-16 11:22:55]
I can't decide whether I miss the tulip or the bowling shoe more
isitsafenow From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 4984 posts, RR: 26 Reply 9, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 2582 times:
Quoting Cubsrule (Reply 7): TSA works - and has worked for some time - with passenger rail, both commuter and Amtrak.
I have been to and through Chicagos Union Station seven times this year and have seen TSA once....and I was LOOKING for them. Local police and Amtrak police with dogs are highly visable.
Theres this bench across from Track 12 where I sit for a few hours to people watch(hobby of mine).....TSA is scarce.
safe
If two people agree on EVERYTHING, then one isn't necessary.
Mir From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 19813 posts, RR: 56 Reply 10, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 2548 times:
Quoting Cubsrule (Reply 3): To play devil's advocate for a minute, I know that at my home airport (and at most airports I use regularly), the demand for checkpoint screening ebbs and flows. If there's an hour or two where TSOs aren't needed at checkpoints - but they are needed on either side of that hour, what sort of activities would you propose?
If they're on the clock and not on break, either have them do some other tasks or keep them at the checkpoints. At least that way you keep capacity, and you'll end up with even shorter lines during the down periods.
-Mir
7 billion, one nation, imagination...it's a beautiful day
Cubsrule From United States of America, joined May 2004, 21289 posts, RR: 19 Reply 12, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 2528 times:
Quoting isitsafenow (Reply 9): I have been to and through Chicagos Union Station seven times this year and have seen TSA once....and I was LOOKING for them. Local police and Amtrak police with dogs are highly visable.
Many TSA activities (both inside and outside of aviation) do not involve screening.
Quoting Mir (Reply 10): If they're on the clock and not on break, either have them do some other tasks or keep them at the checkpoints.
I'd agree. Obviously, those "other tasks" won't be at the checkpoint.
I can't decide whether I miss the tulip or the bowling shoe more
isitsafenow From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 4984 posts, RR: 26 Reply 13, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 2473 times:
[quote=Cubsrule,reply=12]Many TSA activities (both inside and outside of aviation) do not involve screening.
The word screening wasnt mention. I said...............I DIDN"T SEE THE TSA AT CHICAGO"S UNION STATION EXCEPT FOR ONE TIME...and that was at south tracks wandering around with an Amtrak cop with police dog.
Mattter of fact, the day was MAY 8, 2010 or "National Train Day" to be exact.
If they wander at car rent building, they should wander at a very busy train station.....like Metra & Amtrak combined.
safe
If two people agree on EVERYTHING, then one isn't necessary.
Cubsrule From United States of America, joined May 2004, 21289 posts, RR: 19 Reply 14, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 2444 times:
Quoting isitsafenow (Reply 13): If they wander at car rent building, they should wander at a very busy train station.....like Metra & Amtrak combined.
By "they" who do you mean? TSOs?
I can't decide whether I miss the tulip or the bowling shoe more
Cubsrule From United States of America, joined May 2004, 21289 posts, RR: 19 Reply 16, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 2377 times:
Quoting Mir (Reply 15): Sure. But they shouldn't be just idling around.
Absolutely - but do you know that they weren't?
I can't decide whether I miss the tulip or the bowling shoe more
jetblast From United States of America, joined Nov 2004, 1201 posts, RR: 11 Reply 17, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 2356 times:
Quoting Cubsrule (Reply 3): If there's an hour or two where TSOs aren't needed at checkpoints - but they are needed on either side of that hour, what sort of activities would you propose?
Some customer service training might be a good idea...
exFATboy From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 2974 posts, RR: 9 Reply 18, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 2 hours ago) and read 2208 times:
Quoting Cubsrule (Reply 7): TSA works - and has worked for some time - with passenger rail, both commuter and Amtrak.
Quoting isitsafenow (Reply 9): I have been to and through Chicago's Union Station seven times this year and have seen TSA once....and I was LOOKING for them. Local police and Amtrak police with dogs are highly visible.
Now that you mention it, I can't recall ever seeing them at all at New York Penn or Newark Penn. I've seen Amtrak, MTA, NYPD, and New Jersey Transit police at NYP, along with National Guard from time to time. (I've also seen Port Authority PD at New York Penn occasionally, but I'm presuming they were just commuting or using the stores there.) At Newark Penn, you usually see NJT Police, but I've seen Newark city cops, Amtrak police, and PAPD as well.
But I've never seen TSA at either station. Not once. I've never noticed them at Boston South Station either the few times I've been there in the last two years.
The 2009 appropriations bill for Homeland Security (you can see it here, in all its questionable glory) allocates only about 1% of TSA's total budget to surface security, with in turn a little under half of that going to "Surface Transportation Security Inspectors", human and canine. The rest of the surface security appropriation is for threat assessment and strategy development, presumably working with state security forces.
So it's actually not surprising we don't see a visible presence.
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From Northern Mariana Islands, joined Jul 2004, 582 posts, 
I'd agree. Obviously, those "other tasks" won't be at the checkpoint.
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