Security screeners at Denver airport allege mismanagement DENVER (AP) =97 Thirteen security screeners at Denver International Airport= =20 have written to a Colorado congressman to complain about management's=20 unregulated power to demote and dismiss workers. The employees, among 1,000= =20 screeners at DIA, allege that mismanagement by the federal Transportation=20 Security Administration has damaged morale and risked security. Their=20 letters were sent to Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and obtained by The Denver=20 Post. The Post interviewed several of the screeners and either read or=20 obtained all the letters. In the letters and interviews, screeners said=20 they joined TSA believing their positions were a patriotic service. But=20 managerial powers to demote and fire without oversight instituted to make=20 the new bureaucracy efficient have turned what was once a labor of love=20 into a frustrating chore, they said. "I'm tired of doing a good job and=20 having my job threatened," one screener wrote. "It has gotten out of hand.= =20 I dread going to work." Officials with TSA said morale is very high=20 throughout the country. Pat Ahlstrom, deputy federal security director for DIA, said the agency has= =20 exceeded expectations and has received acclaim from passengers, air=20 carriers and airline personnel. Ahlstrom said the complaints were probably= =20 coming from a few poor-performing screeners among the hundreds employed by= =20 TSA in Denver. "There is a national belief that the government does not=20 remove people that don't perform well," Ahlstrom said. "It was very much=20 the intent of this organization to not have that reputation." TSA director= =20 James Loy blocked workers from collective bargaining, citing the need to=20 easily make shift changes in the event of a terror attack. Lawrence=20 Pacheco, a spokesman for Udall, said the workers' letters raised concerns,= =20 but said he could not discuss specifics without the individuals' permission. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************