We have to swipe our electronic ID card as we go through the checkpoints, so employees can only access the part of the airport where they work. The airport authority will provide this information to the airlines, so that they can check how many breaks workers are taking and for how long. Workers may have to go to the airport on a day off to pick up a paycheck or to look for co-workers to swap days off or to check on flights if we want to travel somewhere. And the bosses know that when we want to organize to defend our rights, we need to be able to go around and talk to each other, regardless of what days off we have. To the extent that they enforce these new rules, this access has now been cut off.
American employees seem to be adapting to the new situation.
We are not taking bags onto the ramp and so far have been cooperating with the guards when they check the bags. But at the same time, we don't like it. We have been harassed by Customs officers coming up on the plane while the cleaners are working, demanding to know if they are scheduled to work that day. Some people think the crackdown won't last, but the truth is the bosses have already succeeded in changing the work atmosphere. People do look at each other more closely now than they did before, and instead of holding the door for a worker who may be coming behind, they close the door, so the other person can swipe their own card.