CBP in the Local News

[Clint]

Lengthy Article, but interesting....

FOCUS: HOMELAND SECURITY
Bridge officers complain of long hours and stress


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Union says situation jeopardizes security

By DAN HERBECK
News Staff Reporter
12/17/2006


Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News
Debra Skok Watson, a bridge officer and steward with the American Federation of Government Employees, says a lot of officers work forced overtime - 16-hour shifts - several times a month.


Homeland Security officers who check incoming travelers at the region's international bridges claim that long hours and forced overtime are causing some officers to be mentally exhausted and are jeopardizing the nation's security.
Their union claims officers at the Peace, Rainbow, and Lewiston-Queenston bridges are being pushed beyond reasonable limits at a time when the nation depends on them to keep terrorists and weapons of mass destruction from entering the United States.

"The stress level for people in my job has at least doubled and probably tripled since 9/11," said Debra Skok Watson, a bridge officer and steward with the American Federation of Government Employees.

"A lot of us work forced overtime - 16-hour shifts - several times a month," said Watson, a bridge officer and steward with the American Federation of Government Employees. "By your 14th hour, you're about as sharp as a cotton ball. Your mind is mush, you're burnt out, and you're a lot less likely to ask the kind of sharp questions that would keep the next Osama bin Laden from entering this country."

In a formal complaint, the union also claims that officers are sometimes forced to stay in their inspection booths for up to eight straight hours and that some have been refused permission to take bathroom breaks.

At least one officer who needed a bathroom break was recently told by a supervisor to "use the trash can," and another was told to "find an empty pop bottle," the union alleged in a grievance filed with the U.S. Customs & Border Protection section of the Homeland Security Department.

The union said it has also filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

Agency spokesman Kevin Corsaro and Buffalo port director for Customs & Border Protection Joseph J. Wilson had no detailed responses to the union's claims.

"The security of our country is the primary mission of U.S. Customs & Border Protection, and we take allegations of this nature very seriously," Corsaro said in an e-mail. "The allegations in this grievance are greatly exaggerated. We consider the health and safety of our officers one of our highest priorities. Union grievances are of an internal nature, and, for that reason, are not discussed outside of the agency.

"The Port of Buffalo consists of approximately 500 officers. The number of officers working primary inspections is ever-changing and dependent upon operational needs."


Constant pressure

Local Customs officers have done an excellent job since the September 2001 terror attacks, Corsaro has said, using new technology to make closer checks of vehicles and arresting many smuggling suspects.

In an April 2002 interview, Wilson told The Buffalo News that some officers were working 16-hour shifts, but at that time, he said an anticipated increase in staff would address that problem.

The three major bridges in Buffalo, Lewiston and Niagara Falls are among the busiest crossings on the U.S.-Canadian border. Authorities estimate that about 13 million people, six million passenger vehicles and 1.3 million trucks cross the local spans every year.

According to the union, approximately 350 to 400 officers work regularly in primary inspection booths on the bridges.

On a busy day, more than 480 vehicles may pass by one officer's inspection booth, Watson said. Typically, an officer has 30 to 60 seconds to determine whether a person might be a terrorist or drug smuggler.

The union takes the position that each officer should spend no more than five of every eight work hours in a primary inspection booth. The union contends that the remaining work hours should be spent on other duties, such as conducting secondary inspections of vehicles, checking visas and running criminal background checks on a computer.

Watson said she has checked with other border crossings to Canada and Mexico and found that officers there are not allowed to remain in the booth for "more than four to five hours of an eight-hour shift."

"On a hot day, you can get light-headed from breathing in carbon monoxide fumes all day, but still, you have to do your job," Watson said.

"It's very stressful. You're under constant pressure to keep traffic moving, but you're also required to be hyper-observant about the way people talk, the answers they give, their body language and the appearance of their vehicle . . . No officer wants to be the one to allow a terrorist into this country.


Expressing alarm

From a financial standpoint, the increased security has created opportunities for some officers.

Customs officials said a rookie officer makes a base annual salary between $29,000 and $36,000. A 10-year veteran makes approximately $60,000.

According to Corsaro, officers who work a double shift get double pay for the second eight hours. Watson said some officers volunteer for double shifts and some make $25,000 a year in overtime.

"The money is good, but the stress is not worth it," Watson said. "We've had officers who have children and child care responsibilities, getting ready to go home, and their supervisors have told them they have to work a second shift. We've had a number of people quit because of this."

Some bridge supervisors are reportedly sympathetic toward those who work in the inspection booths.

The union said it obtained an e-mail that one supervisor wrote last month, expressing alarm about the situation.

"This past [day] was hell at the bridges," the union quoted the Buffalo area supervisor as writing.

"Talked to [an officer whose name was withheld]. He was on Primary for 71/2 hours . . . He could not even get a [bathroom] break. He said his mind was mush after a couple of hours and he is just hoping that he does not get fired because he screwed up and let someone in that he shouldn't have. Nobody ate for lunch. And this is our first line of defense?"

Andy Ramirez of Chino, Calif., runs an organization called Friends of the Border Patrol. He researches homeland security issues, runs a Web site and is an advocate for staffing increases for both the Border Patrol and Customs & Border Protection.

"I talk to Customs people all the time, and inadequate staffing is a problem throughout the agency. The northern border is completely understaffed," Ramirez said.


Respites needed

Ramirez said it concerns him when he hears that some officers in the Buffalo area work 16-hour shifts with few breaks. He said the work can be tiring and tedious, and respites are needed.

"You need a break every few hours," Ramirez said. "You need to get out of that booth to stretch your legs, use the bathroom, have a cup of coffee or just splash some water on your face.

"These people are under pressure. The government wants them to make more high-profile arrests. At the same time, they're told to keep the traffic moving. If something goes wrong, if a terrorist gets in, the officer is the one who's going to be blamed."


e-mail: dherbeck@buffnews.com

[TheIrish]

The media should start looking into CBP, land borders ad airports, I'm sure they would have some real intersting tings to write that would really make the american people feel less safe.

[chewy]

What a bunch of whining pricks!!! Let them come to Detroit and work the same shifts but with fifty supervisors who are all COMPLETE FRIGGING MORONS! On top of that we are actively told not to check things, just "clear the traffic out" and "process all entries as downtime and clear them out". Or my favorites, "Chrysler just called and complained about their trucks taking too long to cross... stop looking in trailers and flush traffic" or "the bridge company called and complained so you need to stop taking two minutes a truck and move them out" "don't check anything on primary, if you want it looked at send it around for exam or VACIS" this one is usually followed about ten minutes later by "NO more referrals to VACIS until further notice" ... It's a G.D. miracle that we haven't been overrun by our enemies!

[chewy]

When I worked the airport it was just as bad except instead of the privately owned border crossing companies or the automotive industry pushing it was just management. I remember working ECO and I asked, literally, two questions to a couple when my supervisor came up to me and said... and this is verbatim "Don't ask questions, either let them go or refer to secondary"... Now, maybe I'm just not a very good Customs Inspector but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to decide who gets examined and who doesn't without talking to anyone... We had a lot of pressure at the airport because of CBP's stupid "out the door in 30 minutes" thing. By time they get through Immigration and FINALLY get their luggage they were already in our custody over 30 minutes so we were really pressured by our bosses to move them out. It's sad because when I started here our airport Inspectors were getting seizures every day and Coke and Heroin like one or two a month at least and we have only have direct flights from Canada, France, UK and China. Now they don't get crap and the border is starting to be the place for seizures although we don't get anywhere near what we should. It's really a damn shame as we have a lot of REALLY good officers but we get NO training on enforcement stuff or interviewing or searching vehicles or anything. All we have to go on is what we learn at FLETC (which isn't much) and whatever your taught by other Officers during your four weeks of field training and the majority of that is paperwork stuff... I'm really hoping it's mainly Detroit and that I'll be pleasantly surprised and HAPPY at work again once I get out of here..... IF I ever get out of here :mad:

[chiefhuntr]

How sad.......

[BP348]

It's the whole "5 minute notice & you're working a double thing that would get me.

[TheIrish]

JFK it used to be Khat was no big deal, a seizure of that a couple of times a week. Powder seizers were weekly, Fraud docs, imposters, everything possible. Now the numbers are down on EVRYTHING, short staffed, heavy flight loads, have to kiss the *** of the airlines and passengers. Now it comes down to, if every officer did a good inspection, it would take over an hour to clear a flight from England, which are usually pretty clean flights. Now if there is a khat seizure, its a big deal. It's really to the point we can't even put the focus on terrorism and sitting in a booth for 8 to 10 hours with the big 40 minute break, you get burned very easy and stop paying attention.

[ahenry]

Now, maybe I'm just not a very good Customs Inspector but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to decide who gets examined and who doesn't without talking to anyone

Oh come on Chewy. I understand your complaint, but you know as well as I do, that you can spot 98+% of the “bad” traffic before it even gets to primary. ;)

We had a lot of pressure at the airport because of CBP's stupid "out the door in 30 minutes" thing. By time they get through Immigration and FINALLY get their luggage they were already in our custody over 30 minutes so we were really pressured by our bosses to move them out.

You blue shirt. :p

No harm meant...I’m just pickin’ on you

[K-9MALY]

At least one officer who needed a bathroom break was recently told by a supervisor to "use the trash can," and another was told to "find an empty pop bottle," the union alleged in a grievance filed with the U.S. Customs & Border Protection section of the Homeland Security Department.

This sadly is a very true plight of those officers who are on the line push. I put my dog up and will spell them sometimes just so they can use the bathroom. Kevin Corsaro is a good guy, but just putting out the party line here because he is now the PAO. If I wasn't K-9, I would never work for CBP...Hell NO!

[chewy]

Well Maly, I think there are a lot of CBPO's that feel if it didn't pay so well we wouldn't be there! Unfortunatly there are a lot of real good officers that we lose every year because the BS ends up out weighing the money. It's really sad that they are running this job into the ground, It is a very important job and could be a great job to work at. I've always maintained that Detroit could be one of the greatest Customs ports to work at if they actually treated us like human beings and let us do our friggin job without all the politics and BS. We have just about everything that CBP does except foot passengers and there is definately a lot of contraband coming through Detroit but until we have a drastic change in policy and management style it'll remain one of the worst ports. It really is a shame and I think that, judging by the downward trend, if management doesn't change the way they are running CBP soon they are going to have a civil war on their hands and probably a mass exodus of seasoned, qualified people.


Irish, I remember reading some of your (JFK) Khat seizures a few years ago. It seemed like you guys were getting them every day almost. Then we started getting them in Detroit at the airport and the landborder. It seemed like we started getting a lot of them for like a year then BAM, nothing. I haven't seen or heard of us with a Khat seizure in probably three years now...?

[Merlin]

Sheesh...reading of everybody else's problems in the CBP world almost makes me glad that my biggest problem is sitting, eating, and watching TV 7 hours a day.

[TheIrish]

At JFK airport, a person getting sent back home, she only got in the same day and got caught for some BS that denied her entry. The lady at the time of being put on the plane flips and starts fight with the 2 CBP officers. She was was cuffed and detained and put in to lockup. CBP decided her punishment would be, They will wait until after christmas to send her back home, they wouldn't call the Port Authority Police to have her arrested for assaulting a Federal Officer. One officer was a female and was a little bruised up, but nothing major. Thats the state of CBP punishment by making someone miss christmas.

[Lost Texan]

Let me understand, the woman was inadmissable, she assaulted two of your partners and you are upset she missed Christmas. That is a sad state of affairs.

As far as Buffalo goes, overtime is a condition of employment. It is never forced, all you have to say is I quit. There are contractual stipulations on back to back OT and number of hours worked and for the most part they are followed. Sometimes they are not, after 9/11 we worked 8 or 9 doubles in a row, we know why we did it. Furthermore, if an Officer doesn't have the guts to tell his Sup. that he is going to the bathroom or he is going to inhale a sandwhich, he damn sure isn't going to have the guts to arrest someone who is wanted. Any Sup. that forces those conditions or makes those types of statements is a union steward's dream come true. There are plenty of people leaving CBP to other agencies, most in search of a covered position while they are young enough. Damn few will tell you the state of affairs is any better in their new agency.

LT

[chewy]

Let me understand, the woman was inadmissable, she assaulted two of your partners and you are upset she missed Christmas. That is a sad state of affairs.

As far as Buffalo goes, overtime is a condition of employment. It is never forced, all you have to say is I quit. There are contractual stipulations on back to back OT and number of hours worked and for the most part they are followed. Sometimes they are not, after 9/11 we worked 8 or 9 doubles in a row, we know why we did it. Furthermore, if an Officer doesn't have the guts to tell his Sup. that he is going to the bathroom or he is going to inhale a sandwhich, he damn sure isn't going to have the guts to arrest someone who is wanted. Any Sup. that forces those conditions or makes those types of statements is a union steward's dream come true. There are plenty of people leaving CBP to other agencies, most in search of a covered position while they are young enough. Damn few will tell you the state of affairs is any better in their new agency.

LT

LT, I think he was upset that the ONLY punishment she got for BEING inadmissable AND assaulting two of our Officers was missing Christmas. If I read that correctly I think TheIrish was trying to convey that he was pizzed that she didn't go to jail.

[Lost Texan]

Yeah partner, you maybe right. If so, my error.
Thank goodness I only make them at home.

LT