Orlando Airport kicks out the TSA

[FLPanhandle]

http://gizmodo.com/5693455/orlando-airport-kicks-out-the-tsa

Responding to outcry about the TSA's scanning, Orlando's Sanford Airport has invoked a little-known clause that allows them to replace the TSA with one of five approved third-party security firms, citing "more accountability and better customer service." Here's hoping.


Not much more details than that.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I hope that this will lead to better security measures...

Here's hoping.

Recommended.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

40. It won't; it will be worse.

This is an excuse for union-busting, period. The private company's employees have to follow the same procedures as the TSA, except that they will be paid less. So now you'll be groped and/or nudie-scanned by minimum-wage mall cops.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

44. Oh, I'm sorry for my rec...I hadn't thought of this.

*sigh*

Damn.

[leftstreet]

2. Yippee for private contractors and union busting!

:banghead:

[MedicalAdmin]

39. Can you say kickback.

Someone in FL can.

[csziggy]

3. Probably will not happen soon enough to defuse passenger's anger

Dale says, if all goes as planned, the private security firm could take over in about 12 months.

The TSA points out that even if an airport decides to use a private firm for security, the screeners still must follow TSA guidelines. That would include using enhanced pat-downs and the full-body scanners if they are installed at the airport.

http://wdbo.com/localnews/2010/11/sanford-airport-to-opt-out-of.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Union busting

That's what this is 'bout, not passenger anger

Republicans want to re-privatize airport security because we all know it was better...
:sarcasm:

Now TSA better kick these ahem enhanced methods to the curb and use real standards that are proactive and effective and far less invasive.

[DonCoquixote]

5. no sarcasm meant

But which measure are you talking about. Got a link?

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Asking questions, what Israel has been doing for decades

I was thinking about this...if you fly, when was the last time you were asked "did you pack your bags?"

Yes the question seems stupid but with a well trained screener it is the body language.

Silly things like checking 100% of cargo, 20% is an improvement but far from any gold standard.

Alas, there is no money mine doing this, even if it looks like they are doing something.

[pnwmom]

8. Israel's method is far more expensive than ours.

Hiring all those well trained screeners with multiple languages doesn't come cheap.

[leftstreet]

11. Totally worth it to hand millions to private contractors to not touch our privates!

And BONUS the potential to bust up a 50,000+ union organizing effort


We're Number One !!!111

[pnwmom]

12. I don't understand why so much anger is being directed at the poor TSA people.

They didn't sign up for this kind of screening, it's just been dumped on them. And now they're being called "thugs," "perverts," etc.

[Dappleganger]

14. There's a lot of poor training and screening of TSA agents.

I fault the ones at the top.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

47. have you ever had to deal with these pompous jerks?

i have...a lot. just about every trip i make to the airport i either experience a 'thug' or see someone experiencing a 'thug'. they are unprofessional and in many cases inept.

from the front line sceener to the top of the ranks...they are the epitome of governmental agency embarrassment. the first group to be more hated than the IRS i would wager...

sP

[pnwmom]

50. I have even had the soles of my bare feet wanded by one.

Why, I don't know.

:shrug:

But I don't find them to be pompous jerks. Just the ordinary range of people.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

52. then i would wager the frequency with which you deal with the TSA

is part of the reason...are the policies stupid? oh hell yeah...but that doesn't mean that the people carrying them out have to be surly and rude...

sP

[pnwmom]

53. I'll have to ask my husband. He's the frequent flyer.

But I can say this -- when he flies, the only things he's complained about have been middle seats and cancelled flights. I've never heard him complain about a rude TSA person.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. And your point?

Ours is theater...theirs is security, like fer real.

[pnwmom]

37. Americans wouldn't be willing to pay several times more for security costs.

And they wouldn't put up with racial or religious profiling either.

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. But they will put up to sexual assault

I have no idea... what that statement tells me about the United States, but it is not what I thought the country was all about.

Here is the deal, people do regularly around the world. You can dial up their procedures or dial them down... but this security theater is not keeping you safe. Not me saying it at this point, The GAO.

Now I must ask... are YOU that afraid?

[pnwmom]

43. I'm not afraid of a pat-down through clothing.

It wouldn't be a sexual assault, just a TSA employee doing her job.

Seems the least-worst of the alternatives.

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. Well I am happy to know that you are willing to give up

Rights for the sake of false security...

And given a DA is now willing to file charges... St. Mateo County and to my countnthere are three lawsuits... That is the country I remember...not your attitude.

Now just a theory... From personal experience...smaller town?

[pnwmom]

49. Don't know what your theory could be,

but I live not far from the center of a metro area of a couple million people.

[nadinbrzezinski]

51. General observation, people in smaller towns trend to be

More easily frightened.

[Toucano]

21. You get what you pay for.

If you want quality, real security it's gonna cost.

While the U.S. directly spends only 10% of what Israel spends, there are a lot of indirect costs associated with the U.S. procedures that aren't taken into account.

[CreekDog]

23. apparently those machines are a million a pop

:D

[pnwmom]

36. Israel's screeners are highly trained college grads conversant

in multiple languages. And there are many more of them than we use in our system. All those salaries add up. Even expensive machines are cheaper.


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid= ...

Borovich estimated El Al's security bill at $100 million a year, which amounts to $76.92 per trip by its 1.3 million passengers. Half is paid by the Israeli government.

By contrast, the TSA spent $4.58 billion on aviation security, or just $6.21 per trip by 737 million passengers, in fiscal 2005.

[sally cat]

28. You keep saying that. Please prove it.

[pnwmom]

35. I've posted this before, but here it is again.

The exact numbers aren't important, however. Any system that uses as many trained people as Israel's does (read about their security, it's intense) is obviously going to cost a lot.


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid= ...

Borovich estimated El Al's security bill at $100 million a year, which amounts to $76.92 per trip by its 1.3 million passengers. Half is paid by the Israeli government.

By contrast, the TSA spent $4.58 billion on aviation security, or just $6.21 per trip by 737 million passengers, in fiscal 2005.

[MattBaggins]

22. You really believe this don't you?

Body language experts are charlatans. They are about as effective as Bush looking into Putin's eyes and seeing his soul.

A bunch of private firms trying to cut costs by paying a bunch if ill trained people minimum wage is not going to spot a single damned terrorist by some mythical method of so called body language reading. The type of draconian racial profiling done in Israel won't work in America.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. That Isvwhy they are not I'll paid

Or badly trained...

But if you want what's next on this trend for illusory security, which is what you have now...

By all means...we have gone nuts as a nation. Enjoy the fear.

[Toucano]

6. Unrec...this is not what it appears to be...n/t

[GodlessBiker]

10. Then what is it?

[Toucano]

16. It's more privatization.

It has nothing to do with the procedures adopted by the TSA because the private companies are still bound to follow those same procedures.

It's taking good paying federal jobs with benefits out of the equation and replacing them with unqualified, unaccountable private personnel who will be nothing but glorified mall cops.

[GodlessBiker]

25. After seeing what that TSA person did to that child, she isn't qualified to be a mall cop.

[Toucano]

26. Super. You have a problem with one individual.

Take it up with that individual, whom I agree should be retrained.

I suspect the problem lies in the training more than the individual. She's being asked to do something stupid and executes the job stupidly.

What a surprise!

[voteearlyvoteoften]

9. Not the main Orlando airport

Nice little airport, but not too many flights. European charters and Allegiant, a small airline.
Run by Larry Dale the kind of guy that eliminates eagles even when not maybe completely necessary.
So maybe a little grandstanding here.

[glitch]

54. Probably wants to hire Blackwater, complete with fed assist and kickbacks. nt

[MineralMan]

13. The thing is that the private security firm still has to meet all

TSA standards, so the actual screening will be no different from a TSA screening. Those are the additional details.

[leftstreet]

17. Yes, but at least they won't be yukky unionized workers

:sarcasm:

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Yep, pay is 7.25 instead of union job and benefits

We can't have that

[MineralMan]

24. True enough. Instead, they'll be low-paid workers. Just what everyone

used to complain about before the TSA took over security. Anyone who thinks that private security firms will be more professional or more competent just doesn't remember how it used to be before the TSA. Rent-a-Cops were the order of the day, and professionalism wasn't one of the hallmarks.

Instead of a TSA person groping you, it'll be Bart the Mall Cop. Cool, huh?

The standards and procedures will be exactly the same as the TSA uses. They have to be, or feeder airline passengers would have to be rescreened before getting on a connecting flight. I remember when I had to do that after flying from a non-conforming airport in California, early in this whole security-screening thing. After a short time, the small airport had full screening capabilities and the second screening wasn't needed any longer.

So, get groped by a TSA employee or a mall cop. I can't really see the difference, except the mall cop is probably being paid less and is less likely to treat you professionally. Good move, huh?

[lovuian]

18. i see in a crystal ball more people going to flights at airports

without scanners

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. They will have them, unless TSA cancels the roll out.

[sally cat]

29. Will be interesting to see if any others follow suit.

[Fire Walk With Me]

30. Wait a second-- are TSA an existing union being ordered around by "homeland security"

or are were they created by "homeland security"?

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. Tsa is part of DHS

And they fought for the union

[Fire Walk With Me]

33. Weird...DHS is very, very bad. WTF? Are they actually fighting DHS or is this just confusion?

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. They fought to get a union in 2003 iirc

they are UNION... they get UNION representation.

They are ALSO part of the Federal Government.

What the REPUBLICANS want to do is go back to pre 9.11 with private companies running the show, no accountability and the rest.

US Security at airports was a joke before 9.11. Right now, and not from what you can see, they are just less of a joke.

[Fire Walk With Me]

41. Thanks.

And yes, the Bush government (which includes those who support privatization) are working to ruin government services so that they can give the money to Halliburton and the rest of their own companies...I hate privatization and those behind it.

[seafan]

31. Republican John Mica (FL), soon to chair Transportation, is pushing privatization of airport groping

Republicans want to take TSA out of the equation and turn it over to privatization; however, by law, all of the groping and irradiating will continue, no matter who's doing it.


The airport opt-outs signify nothing for passenger relief.


Republican John Mica (FL), soon to chair Transportation, is pushing privatization of airport groping

The TSA points out that even if an airport decides to use a private firm for security, the screeners still must follow TSA guidelines. That would include using the full body scanners if they are installed at the airport.

[GrantDem]

38. Union busting.

[krabigirl]

45. Good for them.

[PavePusher]

46. Simple solution....

Restore Second Amendment rights in airports and on planes. If you don't bring your own side-arm, you can sign out a 1911 with ammo and magazines at the security checkpoint, returnable at your destination.

Some people think I'm joking about this, but I'm completely serious.