DATE: October 15, 2021
TO: All Personnel: LGA, ISP, HPN, SWF
FROM: Robert A. Duffy, Federal Security Director: LGA, ISP, HPN, SWF
SUBJECT: Weekly Update
I hope all of you and your families are doing well.
This week’s memo starts with the topic on many of your minds, and that is the COVID-19 vaccinations. As you are aware, we are all required to be fully vaccinated by November 22, 2021. In an effort to remind all of you of this requirement and the timelines to get vaccinated, I directed the Coordination Center to send constant reminders to your e-mail addresses multiple times a week starting in September. Additionally, the national TSA shift briefs have also included regular reminders about vaccinations. The TSA efforts are focused on the health and safety of all of you and your families. Your safety and well-being have always been at the center of our efforts throughout this pandemic, and will continue to be our priority. “Fully vaccinated” is defined as 14 days after receiving your second shot of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccination, or the single shot Johnson and Johnson vaccination. That means you must receive your second Moderna or Pfizer shot or single J&J shot no later than Monday, November 8, 2021. Vaccinations are plentiful and easy to get. You may use the web site Vaccines.gov to find a location near you. Most drug stores and clinics now offer the vaccine. Failure to get vaccinated will lead to the progressive discipline process. TSA-HQ will be sending out additional details in the near future concerning the progressive discipline process.
Earlier this week, Administrator Pekoske advised that there is a plan in the review process that will address the matter of returning to the workplace for those of you who have been able to work at home. That directive will be out in the next couple of weeks and applies across the TSA.
Congratulations to Sergio Blanco on his recent promotion to I-Band Manager at LGA, to John Maxwell on his selection to the Coordination Center and to Cheseed Jack on her selection to STSO and re-assignment to SWF from HPN. Good luck to all of you in your new assignments. I am proud of all of you.
Many of you saw the recent news stories about the budget, or lack thereof. We are now operating under a continuing resolution which is not new. We are currently funded through December 3, 2021. There is no impact on your pay as we continue with the same pay levels as we had in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget.
The TSA now has MSPB rights in discipline cases as of September 26, 2021. As far as the possible move for the TSA to become a Title V agency, that bill is currently in committee in the House of Representatives. It will need to move next, if approved by the committee, to a vote by the entire House, then the bill will go to the Senate for consideration following the same process used in the House. If it passes through the Senate, then the bill will go to the President. This move, if approved and signed into law, would move the TSA into the GS pay scale from our current Band pay scale system among other changes.
There is also action being taken at this time to provide our Bargaining Unit Employees (BUE) with expanded collective bargaining rights.
Yesterday, we began the certification process for our two newest K-9 teams. We wish Tatiana Rotaru and Jim Daniels good luck. I am very confident that both of you will do a great job. You have an excellent team around you to set you up for success. Our four newest teams are all doing well at the Canine Training Center in San Antonio, TX. We look forward to seeing them graduate and return to LGA in December. We will need to fill two more K-9 positions to bring us to our authorized staffing of ten teams.
We continue to hire new officers every two weeks, and will continue this effort through November. If the need for more officers continues, then we will continue the hiring process into December and beyond as necessary. Please be advised that TSA-HQ (Human Capital) will be conducting a TSA job fair in New York City on November 5 and 6. More information will be coming as to location and times. We are also preparing to begin a targeted recruiting effort. This will be in addition to the present USAJobs.gov process we have used for years. I want to thank our HR team and Training instructors for their outstanding efforts this year.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who stepped up and answered the call for new OJT coaches at LGA. Our OJT coaches are special people who willingly give of themselves to help our newest officers transition from the training classroom to the real world of the checkpoints. I held a series of meetings with our coaches in September. At the end of those meetings, I asked all of our coaches to ask for volunteers to serve as coaches. They did and the results were excellent. Thank you again. We all have received help throughout our lives to get to where we are today. Being an OJT coach is a great way to give back by helping our new officers begin successful careers.
Thank you to all of our ISP and HPN officers who continue to come to LGA and help us meet our responsibilities until we are fully staffed again. Thank you to the SWF team for continuing to go to HPN and cover for those officers coming to LGA.
With airline operations reducing further at SWF with the recent departure of American Airlines, I want to thank those BD trained SWF officers who are coming to LGA to keep their BD skill sets sharp in the faster paced environment at LGA. We are also working on the possibility of creating a VIPR team at SWF where they will spend time working with the MTA Police at the Beacon train station. Our AFSD-LE Chris Cannella is working on that initiative.
As we look forward to another busy week next week, I want to say thank you to all of you again for your professionalism and selfless dedication and service to the TSA and our Nation. I am proud of all of you.
Respectfully,
Bob Duffy
