Posted on 11/24/2001 9:24:45 PM PST by KQQL
San Francisco Airport Workers Upset They May Lose Jobs Over Citizenship
By Karen Gaudette Associated Press Writer
Published: Nov 24, 2001
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Security screeners at San Francisco International Airport are upset that they could lose their jobs under a new federal law requiring them to gain U.S. citizenship, and the city's mayor has offered to intervene. Some workers have threatened a sickout Sunday that could create kinks as travelers return from the biggest travel weekend of the year. But airport and union officials said the majority of workers were expected to report to work.
"We understand from the union that they're confident there won't be any type of action," airport duty manager Bob Rotiski said Saturday. "The union has a good feel for what the employees are going to do, and they've assured us that they're not going to walk out."
SFO spokesman Ron Wilson said workers' supervisors would fill in for employees who do not come to work.
The new federal law requires all security screeners to become U.S. citizens within a year. Leaders of Service Employees International Union Local 790 say as many as 80 percent of the 1,200 screeners at SFO are legal residents, not citizens. Those not already on the cusp of attaining citizenship could lose their jobs, said Daz Lampares, SFO representative for the union.
Union leaders say they hope workers stay on the job Sunday and let SFO director John Martin and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown negotiate with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta on a plan that would allow the busiest airports to employ some non-citizens.
The mayor "has definitely indicated he would try to talk with federal officials," said Brown's spokesman, P.J. Johnston. "This is not a typical labor issue where the workers have a beef with management. This is a situation that's been handed down from the federal government."
Johnston said no meeting has been scheduled and he is unsure what type of plan Brown would submit.
Wilson said airport officials empathize with the workers, but worry a walkout would shut down the airport and hurt chances of a compromise.
AP-ES-11-24-01 2054EST
How does negotiating different contracts for SFO aliens make air travel safer?
And one more statistic that should concern us: At a starting salary of $35,000 plus benefits (according to the AP), these uneducated screeners will be making far more than the first-year teacher struggling to pay off his or college debts and live from paycheck to paycheck to pay the overhead costs of food and shelter.
Yep. We must retract the welcome wagon band to the America of the '80s and '90s and re-enact the values and sovereignty of a past America! Unfortunately, our proud land can only be set right again when all the liberals have been vanquished to Siberia. And that will take longer than my patience allows.
Best wishes.
Grab a violin and sing me a sob story.
But then again, going from asking people about "super-sizing" their meals to security is truely one hell of a leap.Nah, the security screeners do not have the level of personal hygene required for food service.
It goes like this'
"Good morning Muhammid. Please place your bag flat on the scanner."
"Allah akbar."
"All I see Muhammid is your boxcutter. But you are one of us. You are free to pass. Allah akbar."
The argument for federalizing these people in the first place was that this was for national security. democrats used the border patrol time and time again as an example. Well, the same argument should be used against any liberal idiot who says these people should keep their jobs, as I believe that one has to be a legal citizen to patrol our borders.
Really? Sure, if it's positioned in the bag horizontally so you see a recognizable outline of a gun.
But what if it's deliberately positioned so you just see the back view or top view? Then all you see is some rectangular shape.
Or how about if it's in the bag disassembled? Would you recognise the various pieces as adding up to a gun?
A competant screener is not an idiot. Unfortunately, the big question is: are the current crop of screeners competant?
Many, obviously are not. Last month a lady I work with got thru Philly AIrport security, and only when she got to the gate and looked thru her bag for something did she notice that she had forgotten some bullets in her bag
80% immediately caught my eye and I had to re-read it believing there was a typo.
I am sick and tired of listening to this bunch of whinning, pathetic people. I could care less if they get upset about loosing their jobs. They can either play by our rules or they can go back where they came from - and don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out.
Agreed. Many will not meet the statutory time requirement for citizenship. Others have the time, but haven't yet applied for naturalization. In either case they're hosed, since the time from initial application to the swearing-in ceremony is more like 12 months, if you're lucky.
And if there's one small consolation, its that they'll have to go through the FBI fingerprinting and background check as part of the naturalization procedure.
I'm not sure where this is going . . . .
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