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Power Grab - union style

From CNN:

TSA shuts door on private airport screening program
A program that allows airports to replace government screeners with private screeners is being brought to a standstill, just a month after the Transportation Security Administration said it was "neutral" on the program.

TSA chief John Pistole said Friday he has decided not to expand the program beyond the current 16 airports, saying he does not see any advantage to it.

Though little known, the Screening Partnership Program allowed airports to replace government screeners with private contractors who wear TSA-like uniforms, meet TSA standards and work under TSA oversight. Among the airports that have "opted out" of government screening are San Francisco and Kansas City.

The push to "opt out" gained attention in December amid the fury over the TSA's enhanced pat downs, which some travelers called intrusive.

Rep. John Mica, a Republican from Florida, wrote a letter encouraging airports to privatize their airport screeners, saying they would be more responsive to the public.

Sounds like a cool idea -- lessen the government overhead a bit and send some business to local security contractors. The bid cycle should reduce the cost to the taxpayer quite a bit as well. But nooooooooo...

"It's unimaginable that TSA would suspend the most successfully performing passenger screening program we've had over the last decade," Mica said Friday night. "The agency should concentrate on cutting some of the more than 3,700 administrative personnel in Washington who concocted this decision, and reduce the army of TSA employees that has ballooned to more than 62,000."

"Nearly every positive security innovation since the beginning of TSA has come from the contractor screening program," Mica said.

A union for Transportation Security Administration employees said it supported the decision to halt the program.

"The nation is secure in the sense that the safety of our skies will not be left in the hands of the lowest-bidder contractor, as it was before 9/11," said John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees. "We applaud Administrator Pistole for recognizing the value in a cohesive federalized screening system and work force."

"We applaud Administrator Pistole for recognizing the value in a cohesive federalized screening system and work force" What kind of kickback did Pistole get for kow-towing to this union boss. The home page for the AFGE is here, the TSA offshoot is here. The curious thing is that they did not exist before 2002: I am assuming that there is some kind of retirement pension plan -- how fully is it funded? 100%? 80%? 60%? Who picks up the slack when it runs out of money? We the Taxpayers? Anyone? Beuller? The UnionWatch website shows over $5M spent in lobbying through 2005. Doesn't that seem like a lot to you? 2002? That was just after 9/11/2001. Department of Homeland Security was being formed, it implemented TSA and a bunch of other branches. There has got to be a good book in there somewhere. A bit of investigative reporting... Posted by DaveH at January 29, 2011 6:51 PM