"TSA lifts burden on screeners in Newark"

Thursday, September 7, 2006

TSA lifts burden on screeners in Newark
Mandatory overtime at airport ends Sunday 
BY RON MARSICO
The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger


After working mandatory overtime for weeks, federal security screeners at
Newark Liberty International Airport will return to standard work hours on
Sunday, the first time since British authorities uncovered an alleged plot
to blow up airliners using liquid explosives. 

Ann Davis, a U.S. Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman,
yesterday said the move was possible since overall air travel at the airport
has dropped from peak summer levels and passengers have become more
accustomed to new carry-on rules. 

"Passengers have really adapted to the changes and we're seeing that at
other airports as well," Davis said. "We're not seeing the (checkpoint)
lines any longer than usual." 

Screeners who desire to work more than the normal 40 hours can volunteer for
overtime as shift needs arise, Davis said. 

A story in The Star-Ledger on Aug. 27 outlined concerns from already
short-handed Newark Airport screeners and supervisors. They said the
required 50- to 60-hour weeks were wearing down the staff and potentially
jeopardizing security after the new carry-on restrictions took effect Aug.
10. 

Some said they had seen colleagues dozing at posts and one lead screener
asserted secondary checks of passengers at boarding gates had turned up
items -- such as liquids, gels and even small knives -- that should have
been caught at the main checkpoints. 

Burdens have increased on checkpoint screeners, who must now conduct more
random hand searches of carry-on bags, and luggage screeners who put checked
bags through bomb-detection machines. 

In the aftermath of the latest threat, the amount of checked luggage
increased by 20 percent nationwide as passengers sought to limit the amount
of carry-on items, according to top TSA officials. 

Newark Airport screeners have been on mandated 12-hour shifts, though TSA
officials have tried to let them go an hour or two early whenever possible.
Work requirements have differed at the major airports: At Boston's Logan
International Airport, for example, all shifts were staffed in recent weeks
by screeners working voluntary overtime. 

"They want to do a good job. But, guess what, so did the people on the
Titanic," said Michael Boyd, an aviation security consultant based in
Colorado, who long has criticized TSA management on staffing and training
issues. "I don't care what job you have ... you're not going to be effective
after being there 10 hours a day." 

Davis, however, argued TSA officials make sure screeners get regular breaks
and routinely switch positions during their shifts to minimize the effects
of fatigue. 

Newark Airport's federal security director Mark Hatfield and his managers
were "very cognizant of the fact that morale could suffer if extended work
hours (went) on indefinitely," said Davis. "And they moved to resume normal
hours as quickly as possible." 

Critics of TSA, like U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), say the agency has
been seriously hamstrung by a cap imposed by Congress limiting the total
number of screeners nationwide to 43,000. 

Newark Airport, which is allotted a maximum of 1,097 full-time screeners,
has suffered from severe staffing shortages throughout the four years TSA
has handled security there following 9/11, according to numerous screeners
and supervisors. 

Boyd questioned the value of making Newark Airport screeners work up to 60
hours a week to look for liquids and gels. 

"It's for show what they're doing," said Boyd, who also questioned TSA
management for not paying more attention to other aviation threats, like the
vulnerability of planes to shoulder-fired weapons. "We've got people who
want to kill us with rocket-propelled grenades. So what do we do? Ban hair
gel." 

Among the Newark Airport security force, however, the news of fewer hours
was a happy development yesterday. 

"It's definitely a sense of relief," said one TSA staffer.

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