Sea-Tac screeners' letter prompts federal probe

By Cheryl Phillips
Seattle Times staff reporter

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The federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is looking into Sea-Tac Airport screeners' claims of widespread problems, including allegations that one manager accepted money from employees in exchange for helping them win promotions.

A letter and accompanying petition signed by 206 of the 1,100 TSA employees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport called for an investigation into top management, saying that managers have created a culture of "fear and intimidation" that has led to high turnover and has hindered efforts to maintain security.

The employees in mid-December sent the letter and petition to the TSA, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, several federal inspectors general, Washington's congressional delegation and Gov. Gary Locke.

TSA internal-affairs investigators already have been to the airport to look into the manager who allegedly accepted money from employees. Now, field inspectors have been dispatched as a result of the screeners' letter and petition and will begin meeting with employees tomorrow, according to internal memos.

"An investigation such as this should serve to clear the air," Bob Blunk, TSA's federal security director at Sea-Tac, wrote in one of the memos.

"They couldn't come in soon enough," said one TSA supervisor. Screeners and supervisors say the environment at Sea-Tac leads to stress, disorganization and weaker security for the public.

TSA at a glance The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in November 2001, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when President Bush signed into law the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. TSA's mandate: Provide more-secure screening for air traffic, replacing a system of low-paid, contracted security screeners. Screening has improved, experts say. But the agency still has been criticized on a range of issues, from hiring problems to missing dangerous items in baggage. Facts about the agency: • The Transportation Security Administration is part of the Department of Homeland Security, which was formed on Jan. 24, 2003. TSA originally was part of the Department of Transportation. • Nationwide, the TSA has a screening force of about 48,000. • Sea-Tac Airport has a screening force of about 1,100, including full- and part-timers. Nearly 27 million passengers passed through the airport in 2003. Sources: TSA, Port of Seattle and published reports

"It affects the morale, then the morale affects the staffing," said a screener. "Does it impact the security? Absolutely."

Screeners' complaints

Despite signing their names to the petition and calling for federal and state whistle-blower protection in their letter, the screeners and supervisors who spoke with The Times asked not to be identified for fear of being fired.

Security director Blunk said he has copies of the letter, but not of the petition and signatures.

In earlier interviews, Blunk confirmed that investigators have been looking into the baggage-screening manager who allegedly accepted the improper payments from mid-level supervisors. Blunk also has met with screeners partly because of concerns raised in the letter.

He said he was not surprised that employees are unhappy.

"There have been several instances when the TSA has had difficulty getting things organized, and I think it means employees have to view things skeptically," Blunk said.

"They want things to be better. They want to be in a place where they can work hard and be happy."

A request for comment from TSA headquarters just outside Washington, D.C., was referred to the Homeland Security Department, which referred the request back to TSA headquarters.

In their letter, the employees claim:

• Managers enforce classified security procedures inconsistently, increasing security risks. For example, some managers make screeners ask travelers to take off their shoes, while others do not. Screeners are supposed to ask travelers to take off only items that have metal in them, such as shanks in shoe soles, a screening supervisor said.

• Managers and supervisors lack training, resulting in personnel problems and employee intimidation.

• Uncoordinated scheduling has led to excessive mandatory overtime and high turnover.

• Some employees have been promoted inappropriately, in part because of the alleged activity by the baggage-screening manager.

The manager allegedly accepted $300 apiece from at least two mid-level supervisors and, in exchange, wrote key portions of their applications, said an official familiar with the investigation and employees interviewed by investigators.

The manager allegedly guaranteed promotions for supervisors he helped, said employees interviewed by investigators. But the official said the manager returned the payments after realizing they were improper.

One employee applying for promotion said the manager told him if wanted the job, he should do as two other employees had done: pay him to finish the application.

The screening manager declined to comment.

The manager doesn't have the sole authority to hire and fire and so couldn't have guaranteed promotions, Blunk said. But he acknowledged that managers could have some influence in hiring.

Blunk said the manager has not been placed on administrative leave, a decision that is made case by case. The manager has done a good job supervising baggage screening since the TSA took over operations at the airport in fall 2002, he said.

Once investigators are finished, they will send their report to TSA's Aviation Operations office, which oversees airport operations, Blunk said. TSA internal-affairs investigators also can refer criminal cases to the U.S. Attorney's Office. If the investigators find no criminal wrongdoing in this case, the manager could still face administrative action, Blunk said.

Employees have raised more-general questions about favoritism in recent promotions. Some said they couldn't find out what had happened to their applications.

The human-resources contractor did lose track of some applications, Blunk said. But he said he believed those who had been promoted were well-qualified.

While the investigation into the baggage-screening manager is separate from the letter sent by screeners and supervisors, Blunk said he believes rumors about the alleged actions have played a big role in employee discontent.

"I'm really sorry that we've got this thing going on," he said. "It certainly adds to people's distrust at this point."

U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, has directed his Seattle staff to invite airport screeners to share their concerns.

"We will take the appropriate follow-up steps, including talking with TSA directly," McDermott said in a statement.

Security shortcomings

Meanwhile, inconsistent security procedures identified by The Seattle Times last August have continued, the employees said.

Two employees said management has continued to order "mitigation," or baggage matching — a practice in which screeners match bar codes on boarding passes to the coded tags affixed to travelers' checked bags, rather than using screening machines or physically checking each bag. Mitigation occurred routinely during the holidays because of large crowds, even though the nation was on high alert for terrorism.

Blunk confirmed that the screening force has used alternative methods to screen bags, but noted that such methods have been allowed when necessary under federal rules and have been used only when screeners have been overwhelmed.

He also said that while employees are supposed to follow the main tenets of the TSA's classified security procedures, he expects employees to use their judgment on a day-to-day basis.

Another issue for screeners is the staff turnover rate, now at 15.5 percent, according to Blunk. The national turnover rate is 13.6 percent. While high, turnover includes screeners who never completed initial training, he said.

In August, TSA reported that turnover was 9.5 percent at Sea-Tac and about 6 percent nationally.

The turnover has meant staff shortages and long lines some days, said screeners. One screener said carry-on bags randomly selected for searches sometimes don't get a thorough going-over.

"It's not like you dump this whole bag, because there was nothing on the X-ray," the screener said. "It's pretty much a shortcut we have to do to get the passengers through."

Personnel issues

While some security policies have been improved, those steps have created other problems, employees said.

For example, four screeners now staff each passenger screening lane as required, unlike last summer, said several screeners and supervisors. But to meet that goal, managers impose mandatory overtime and routinely give no notice to employees when requiring them to work longer shifts, screeners said.

Management intimidation of employees is a particular problem, screeners said. One screener said she worked two hours overtime while her children — age 12 and under — were left home alone because she was told she would be fired if she didn't work.

"That's pretty heavy-handed and not necessarily the way I would want things done," Blunk said. "But it is true; there is mandatory overtime."

Blunk said he is talking to supervisors about dealing "in an adult fashion with the adults that are working with them."

He's had other challenges, too. He and his managers set up a training facility but had to do so a mile and a half way from the airport because there was no on-site space to rent at rates within the TSA budget, Blunk said.

The center has been used to train new employees, but training for existing employees has been hampered because of the location and because of delays in getting computers networked.

In addition, top managers' offices are not in the airport itself, adding to an impression that top officials are remote.

But Blunk said top managers plan to hold regular meetings with screeners beginning immediately.

He also touted the start of supervisory training classes — the first since the TSA took over screening more than a year ago. Until now, the training money for supervisors hasn't been available.

But employees who signed the petition say someone outside the airport needs to look at the operations, and expressed relief upon hearing that investigators were on their way to explore the issues raised in their letter and petition.

Said one employee: "This gives the screeners their day to say what's going on."

Cheryl Phillips: 206-464-2411 or cphillips@seattletimes.com

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