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Report: Security Screening Process Flawed, Leaves Dockworkers Jobless |
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Thousands of longshore workers, truck drivers and other workers at ports across the nation are out of work, not because of a staggering economy, but because they are caught up in a backlogged, inefficient and often inaccurate screening process for background security checks.
According to a new report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP), the federal Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA’s) post-Sept. 11 port worker background checks have put thousands of otherwise qualified and experienced port workers on the streets instead of the docks until they gain their security clearance.
Most of the workers caught in this bureaucratic limbo are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), Longshoremen (ILA) and Teamsters (IBT).
The report is the first evaluation of the worker protections in TSA’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). It finds that thousands of workers—disproportionately African American and Latino men—have had to wait an average of seven months while their applications are reviewed, leaving them unable to work and support their families in the midst of a devastating recession.
According to the report, “A Scorecard on the Post-9/11 Port Worker Background Checks,” more than 10,000 workers had lost their jobs while awaiting TSA approval of their TWIC cards after the April 14 compliance deadline passed. Laura Moskowitz, a NELP attorney who led the study, says:
Due to serious problems with the FBI’s records, insufficient staffing and poor TSA screening protocols, there have been major processing delays for workers at ports, which means that large numbers of hard-working families are being left out in the cold at the worst possible time.
To be approved for access to the ports, applicants are subject to criminal background checks using the FBI’s database, immigration status and other security checks. However, the report notes that 50 percent of the FBI’s rap sheets are incomplete or out of date. Contrary to the federal law, TSA denies credentials in an overly broad range of cases such as open arrests, even if they have been dismissed or addressed.
When a worker is denied a security clearance and decides to appeal, Moskowitz says:
TSA and the FBI put the entire burden on the worker to collect the necessary information to clear their records and navigate the process all on their own, which then leaves thousands of workers falling through the cracks of the TWIC program.
It also finds that while worker protections in the program’s appeal process take far too long, eventually almost all workers win their credential cards on appeal. More than 24,000 workers, largely African American and Latinos, were able to keep their jobs with the help of the special protections for workers who are initially denied a credential card based on their record.
The report offers a series of recommendations for TWIC reform, including expediting the cases of workers who have been shut out of the ports, tracking down missing FBI information before issuing denials, adopting strict timeframes for processing applications and better handling of applications from foreign-born workers.
Click here for a look at the full report.
5 Comments
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TWIC is a load of crap. Congress wants people to think it is doing something about “national security”. The “something” it is doing is violating the rights of innocent Americans! Some Viet Nam and Iraq war vets are amongst those who have been disenfranchised by Congress. Figure that out!
And surprise, surprise! Lurking behind the rubble are the private companies that were awarded no-bid contracts to set up the sham TWIC program. Do you think those companies (or the phony members of congress who received generous “donations” from those companies) give a damn about the workers? Sure, and pigs fly.
Your tax dollars are being wasted on boondoggles, yet Congress can’t find the dough to fund health care for children. That’s not the America I want!
TWIC is an attempt to corral and regiment the dock and transport working force so as to equip the bosses for future strike and political action. What with the economy growing worse the capitalist class is well aware of the potential for struggle on the waterfront and amongst teamsters. So it is no surprise that they have instituted this program to have a name, face and number on anyone nearing the docks so that it is easier to pin point the radicals amongst us and ban them from work.
The big problem is that the leadership of all the dock and transport unions went along with this sellout hook, line and sinker. No surprise since they like “peace” on the docks and roadways. It will take some struggle on the part of the longshore and teamsters to wrest control of the union from such sellouts and begin the fight needed to take on the bosses collectively and decisively.
To Frisco Worker:
Frisco is San Francisco. San Francisco is on the west coast. If you’re saying that west coast ledership is selling us out, you’re a fink and a liar! Period!
The TWIC is the direct result of what happens when the Department of Homeland Security goes overboard. I could see why it is important that those working the ports pass security checks, but I also know that police and FBI files are not up to date, and many people get restricted who should not be. I also believe that the entire process can be streamlined and those seeking employment should be able to be hired much more quickly. There seems to be an element of discrimination and prejudice here.
Rich A. calls me a “fink” whereas he should be calling the TWIC cards Fink Cards just as the longshore men and sailors of the 30’s called the bosses attempts to corral and number them. To make it even more outrageous the bosses are making the dockers and truckers PAY for them! I worked union for 42 years including 14 years deepsea. i’ve walked picket lines for the ILWU and other unions and i’ve never been called a “liar” for that or any other activity i’ve been involved with in the labor movement. One thinks Rich A. is nothing more then a bureuacrat defending his own.