Federalization of airport security is monumental task
The federal government is scrambling to solicit, screen, hire and train 319 airport security screeners to work at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee before a Nov. 19 deadline.
That deadline means the new federalized security system will be in place just in time for Thanksgiving – the busiest travel season of the year.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation began accepting job applications July 24 for federal security screeners at 415 commercial airports across the nation, including General Mitchell International and seven other airports in Wisconsin.
The changes are part of the fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and will likely mean additional restrictions – and hassles – for Wisconsin-based businesses.
Prior to Sept. 11, security screeners at General Mitchell International were employed by private contractors hired by the airlines serving the airport. The TSA took over the contracts with Globe Aviation Services Corp., Irving, Texas, and International Total Services Inc., Independence, Ohio, in February.
Deadlines loom
By law, the federal government must take over the passenger screening duties at the airports by Nov. 19 and must have baggage-screening equipment in place by Dec. 31.
The notion of creating and implementing an entire new security system at General Mitchell International in such a short time frame has some business people worried about the impact of the transition.
"One thing that’s a little concerning is that you’ve got 300-some new employees – that’s right before Thanksgiving," said Jim Pugh, spokesman for the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce in Madison. "That could be a big bottleneck."
The TSA expects some "hiccups" when the new federal system is launched, according to agency spokesman Gregory Warren in Washington, D.C.
However, U.S. Transportation Secretary Leon Mineta has a goal of eventually reducing the average time a passenger stands in line to check in for a flight to 10 minutes, from the current national average of 14 minutes, Warren said.
The TSA has contracted with Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md., to train the new security screeners throughout the nation, Warren said. A training center will be established in Milwaukee to prepare the new federal employees at General Mitchell International, Warren said.
"The level of training the screeners will receive will be four times the amount of training provided by the private services," Warren said. "There will be enhanced security procedures."
The American Society for Quality (ASQ), based in Milwaukee, has presented a proposal to the TSA to develop and administer a certification program for the new federal airport security screeners throughout the nation.
In a position paper to make its case to the federal government, ASQ argued that such a program is needed to ensure uniformity and efficiency throughout the new system.
"Simply making the airport security screeners federal employees – or even paying them more – will not guarantee improvement over the current state of affairs," the ASQ stated. "The task is made even more daunting by the very tight deadlines imposed by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act."
The ASQ proposal suggests that the pressure of implementation could lower the quality of the program. "Because these quality system details are out of the public eye, they could easily be overlooked in the rush to meet the deadlines of the new legislation, To do so would be a huge mistake."
The ASQ, which is a nonprofit association, has not yet heard whether its proposal would be accepted by the federal government, said Greg Weiler, group manager of new business development for ASQ.
"We’ve had three meetings with the TSA in D.C., and it’s encouraging, but we don’t know yet," Weiler said.
The ASQ is offering to establish the certification system at no charge to the federal government, even though it would cost the organization about $100,000 to do so, Weiler said. However, if the government then selects the ASQ to administer the system, ASQ would collect about $180 per screener, or $6.3 million in revenue.
The federal airport security screeners will be paid $23,600 to $35,400 per year, depending upon experience, and will receive federal benefits, including health insurance, life insurance, retirement, paid vacation and sick leave. The minimum requirements for the positions include being a US citizen and having a high school diploma or one year of security or aviation screening experience.
Working for private companies, airport screeners generally were paid lower wages and had no benefits.
"You always want to see competition in the system and private industry to flourish," Pugh said. "However, there are some cases in having the federal government to control is a good thing. They can use the power of the federal government to screen out the bad employees on the front end. That’s a good thing."
General Mitchell International spokeswoman Patricia Rowe expects many of the screeners currently employed by the private contractors to land jobs as federal employees, and that could reduce the level of chaos when the new system is launched.
"The employees who conduct screening now are trained and do well," Rowe said.
Big task
Nationally, the TSA has filled only 10,000 of the 35,000 airport security screening positions, Warren said.
The TSA had hoped to fill half of the screening positions with women. Given the looming deadline, the agency has scaled back that goal to one-third.
"We are still recruiting for a demographic of Americans that represents all of America," Warren said.
Midwest Express Holdings Inc., the parent company of Oak Creek-based Midwest Express Airlines, is working closely with the TSA to try to minimize the waiting times for its customers during the transition to federalizing the security system at General Mitchell International, said Carol Skornicka, the company’s senior vice president and general counsel.
"We’re concerned about the whole situation, and there is tremendous demand on the whole system (since Sept. 11)," Skornicka said. "The whole thing has been challenging from the beginning, and with the changeover to the feds …, I’m confident they will not have any lag, in terms of security. We expect they will make the transition."
Skornicka said the company would increase its staffing during the busy Thanksgiving season to best meet the presumed spike in travel volume and the deployment of the federal security system.
The TSA made progress in that transition Aug. 2, when it hired 47 federal security directors to oversee a combined 149 airports.
David Knudson, who worked for the Federal Aviation Administration for 16 years before he most recently was employed at the Great Lakes Region Civil Aviation Security Division Chicago, was hired by Mineta to oversee security at General Mitchell International.
Knudson is in the process of determining where his office will be located in Milwaukee. He intends to bring all the stakeholders to the table in the process of federalizing the security system of General Mitchell International.
"It’s moving quite nicely. Although it is monumental, it’s achievable and manageable," said Knudson, who recently spent a week in Washington with TSA officials. "I think this will come together, but not without hiccups."
New equipment also will be installed with the federal security system at the Milwaukee airport, including special explosive detection devices.
Statewide impact
In the aftermath of Sept. 11 and the slow economy, many businesses have been cutting back on corporate travel. However, the volume of air traffic at General Mitchell International has only declined 8.15% from 2.98 million passengers to 2.74 million through June, year-to-date, from the previous year, Rowe said.
Tom Precia, president of Integrated Risk Solutions, a Delafield insurance and risk-management firm, was surprised when he learned that the deadline for the federalization of screeners at the airport will fall just before the peak Thanksgiving season.
"Oh really? That’s not good timing. So they’ve got to hire 319 people at Mitchell? Wow," said Precia, a frequent flyer who said he recently spent about four hours waiting for a flight to Columbus, Ohio. "You’ve got to plan to spend more time in the airport. Logistics-wise, it’s taking more time. Unfortunately, I have to fly, and, the thing is, safety first. We can’t have anything happen again like Sept. 11."
Most business travelers have learned to simply accept longer lines at airports, although those lines will likely be even longer around Thanksgiving this year, Pugh said.
"Everyone accepts the added delays as part of living in America. It’s part of doing business, and it’s what we need to have a safe society," Pugh said.
Aug. 16, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
