Treat employees as if they're disposable, irrelevant minimum-wage earners, and they'll approach their jobs accordingly. Such a trade-off is problematic at a McDonald's, but with air security, it can be deadly. The General Accounting Office found that screeners last year failed to detect about 20 percent of the dangerous objects hidden in baggage by inspectors. The system had been living on borrowed time. Even San Francisco's progressive incentives fall well short of European standards.
Airlines run the nation's checkpoints and have done so on the cheap to protect bottom lines.
To protect the public, the federal government must intercede and change the culture of security employees. The San Francisco model offers hope that real improvement is within reach. Dan Moffett is an editorial writer for The Palm Beach Post. Details and official rules here . All rights reserved.