"Airport screeners take heat in Chicago"

Thursday, September 18, 2003

Airport screeners take heat in Chicago 
The Associated Press 

 
CHICAGO -- Judges are throwing out cases against people caught with banned
items at Chicago's airports because federal screeners are missing court
dates, police said Wednesday.

In a Sept. 9 memo to the Transportation Security Administration, airport
police Cmdr. Steve Peterson warned that the situation has become serious
because screeners aren't responding to subpoenas.

"The bottom line is people who are arrested are walking without being
accountable," police spokesman David Bayless said. "Our goal is a successful
prosecution, not just to arrest them."

This year, 45 people have been arrested through August on weapons charges at
O'Hare International Airport, and 10 people have been arrested at Midway,
according to police and security agency records.

Chicago police officials declined to say the number of cases that have been
dismissed because of screeners' missed court dates. Bayless said it's "more
than a few," but TSA spokeswoman Chris Rhatigan said it was "less than a
handful."

Meanwhile, a union seeking to organize the government's airport screeners
appealed a court ruling denying them collective bargaining rights.

The American Federation of Government Employees challenged a Sept. 5 ruling
by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that said a federal
administrator should decide whether the screeners have the right to bargain
collectively.

The Transportation Security Administration, which employs 49,600 full-time
airport security screeners, banned collective bargaining by any screeners.
TSA head James Loy said he was concerned a labor contract could hinder
efforts to make staffing changes quickly in response to a terrorism threat.

About 6,500 screeners have signed cards expressing interest in having the
union represent them, and about 1,000 of them affiliated with the union,
with dues deducted from their paychecks. But the union cannot negotiate for
working conditions or salaries.


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