Group wants airport screeners unionized WASHINGTON (AP) =97 A federal employees' union said Monday it will ask=20 Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to let them represent airport security= =20 screeners. The American Federation of Government Employees plans to send a= =20 letter to Ridge this week, asking him to overrule a January decision by=20 Transportation Security Administration head James Loy. "When 9-11 happened,= =20 we didn't say, 'Wait a minute, our collective bargaining agreement says we= =20 have to do this,'" said Bobby L. Harnage, president of the American=20 Federation of Government Employees. ``We did what was necessary. This has=20 nothing to do with national security." Harnage said Ridge has the opportunity to prove that the Bush=20 administration was not targeting unions when it successfully argued for=20 removing civil service protections from Homeland Security Department=20 workers. The administration said at the time that it needed flexibility to= =20 change assignments to respond to terror threats. A phone call to the=20 Homeland Security Department was not immediately returned Monday. Loy said= =20 in January that the security screeners couldn't form a union to bargain for= =20 working conditions because it would prevent the Transportation Security=20 Administration from making sudden changes in shift assignments to respond=20 to emergencies. "Admiral Loy stands behind that decision," TSA spokesman=20 Robert Johnson said. `"He is on the record as stating that in order to=20 remain responsible to the ongoing terrorist threat, we need a work force=20 that is flexible and can be deployed immediately without first having to=20 check with a union shop steward." About 6,000 of the roughly 50,000 screeners have signed petitions=20 requesting AFGE to represent them, and some have become members of the=20 union, with dues deducted from their pay checks, Harnage said. But the=20 union cannot negotiate for working conditions or salaries. Screeners say=20 organizing a union shop would boost security as well protect as their=20 rights. At John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, for example,= =20 screeners were pressured to quickly clear passengers so planes could leave= =20 on time, said one employee, Cynthia Cavalie. "Sometimes it feels more like= =20 we're charged with doing customer service work for the airlines than=20 providing security for the traveling public," she said. Johnson=20 acknowledged some "isolated incidents," and said the agency was working to= =20 correct any problems. "Things will settle down this year and we will show=20 our work force that for those who are committed to this kind of work and=20 dedicated to protecting the American public, this will be a model work=20 place," he said. "While the union was having its news conference, our=20 screeners were doing their jobs. They were making sure that travelers got=20 on planes safely." *************************************************** 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/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************