Business bans TSA agents – will more follow?

February 19, 2011

KC McLawson works for a cafe near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and since the body-scan and patdown controversy last November, she says her boss has taken extraordinary measures to ensure the TSA knows of his displeasure.

“We have posted signs on our doors basically saying that they aren’t allowed to come into our business,” she says. “We have the right to refuse service to anyone.”

Banning TSA from a restaurant. Seems a little harsh, doesn’t it? (Here’s an update on the story.)

McLawson (an apparent pseudonym) explains:

My boss flies quite a bit and he has an amazing ability to remember faces. If he sees a TSA agent come in we turn our backs and completely ignore them, and tell them to leave.

Their kind aren’t welcomed in our establishment.

A large majority of our customers — over 90 percent — agree with our stance and stand by our decision.

We even have the police on our side and they have helped us escort TSA agents out of our cafe. Until TSA agents start treating us with the respect and dignity that we deserve, then things will change for them in the private sector.

I wondered if putting TSA on the no-visit list was somewhat extreme. I mean, what have they done to deserve this? And then I reviewed the week’s troubling news.

TSA agents accused of stealing $40,000. Two New York-based TSA officers, Persad Coumar and Davon Webb, were accused of stealing the money from a piece of checked luggage containing $170,000 inside an American Airlines terminal at JFK. The charges include conspiracy, grand larceny and possession of stolen property. We already know that TSA has a little crime problem. But what about the passenger who checked a bag containing $170,000? Isn’t that asking for trouble?

Another TSA agent pleads guilty to stealing. If you think that’s just an isolated incident, then meet Michael Arato, a TSA officer at Newark airport. He admitted last week to swiping thousands of dollars in cash and other valuables from unsuspecting travelers, mostly non-English speakers. He also confessed to taking kickbacks from a subordinate officer, who stole between $10,000 and $30,000 over the course of a year while Arato reportedly agreed to look the other way. Most troubling, the crimes were committed after passengers were subjected to “additional” screening.

And speaking of Newark. The Newark Star-Ledger last week reported numerous security lapses at the airport, including knives and other dangerous objects that eluded screening. Perhaps the TSA officers would have noticed the contraband if it had been wrapped in greenbacks. But the problems aren’t limited to Newark. An armed officer was able to get through a body scanner in Dallas without being detected. Let me repeat that: A passenger with a gun slipped through one of those controversial full-body scanners that’s supposed to see everything. I guess it only works if you’re looking at the screen.

Senate hammers scanners. Lawmakers passed a measure that would make misusing body scanner images a federal crime punishable by up to a year in prison. It would prohibit anyone with access to the scanned body images from photographing or disseminating the snapshots. Besides a prison term, violators could be fined up to $100,000 per violation. Interestingly, I spoke with a reliable source about the images generated by these scanners, and he suggested that they are very detailed. I believe he may have used the term “pornographic.” Why hasn’t anyone objected? “It’s possible that the resolution was turned down when they showed the machines to reporters,” he told me. Ah, so they really can see my family jewels in crisp detail. Nice.

So why do passengers hate the TSA? Perhaps a better question is, “Why not?”

I asked McLawson if I could talk with her boss, but she declined. She says she hopes telling her story will raise awareness of the anger felt by small businesses across America toward the TSA.

“Maybe more businesses will step up to the plate and do the same,” she says.

(Photo: grend el khan/Flickr Creative Commons)

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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197 comments

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  • http://www.cogitamusblog.com/2011/02/life-in-the-usa-a-photo-album.html Lisa Simeone

    These are the TSA agents we’re supposed to feel so sorry for because they have to walk three extra paces to another cafe:

    http://www.cogitamusblog.com/2011/02/life-in-the-usa-a-photo-album.html

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  • http://clintjcl.wordpress.com ClintJCL

    Yes, business have the right to not serve whoever they see fit, as long as they are not part of a constitutionally protected subclass. And this is how it SHOULD be. It’s part of the reason why smoking bans are so fucked up – I should be able to say “non-smokers allowed”, just as a non-smoker who owns a business should be able to say “smokers not allowed”. But it only works one way today, thanks to a tyrannical majority who has given their government the ability to tell private property owners what to do with their personally held businesses.

  • pacific_waters

    I can’t believe you bozos who excuse TSA agents because “they are only doing their job”. They are the ones who make it possible for the out of control federal government to run amok. Where have you been? Even the “good” ones are part of the system and have agreed to participate in the illegal activities of the DHS. Wake up sheeple. The neither the government nor its agents are your friends.

  • Kenny

    If the cafe is so proud of its actions why are they hiding their name?

    Yeah, they have the right to refuse service, but the families and friends of TSA also have the right to all show up at lunch hour, occupy all the tables and order a tea and chat for several hours.

  • Peter Campbell

    Spread the word and get more businesses to do it!!

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  • Deborah

    Kenny, another TSA worker, obviously. You and yours are part of the problem, you just don’t get it…it’s not a job it’s a violation that has not been prosecuted, YET. Believe me, one day this will end. Disgusting subhumans; in all the horrible events in history there are always those who would do anything for a buck…also the owner is not hiding nor is anyone else hiding him. He is a hero.

  • Lily

    McLawson is a pretty lame pseudonym for Clawson, isn’t it? And anyone can set up an autoresponse in any name. Based on some conversations at CVG where I work, I’d point the finger at a senior financial officer in our organization who has a history of poison pen letters, is violently political and has been for years deeply opposed to what she calls “Thousands Standing Around,” and who – surprise! – recently traveled through the Seattle area for a professional conference. Incidentally, there are no such cafes or signs in our airport; this woman is known for making up stories just to stir the waters. Her initials are SH…how good an investigator are you?

  • RP Stoval

    The owner of this place is a True American! A hero! I applaud his or her decision and urge others to do the same. TSA employees are complicit in their unconstitutional actions. Remember, guards at war crime camps were just doing their job, too.

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  • jaun

    And yet all of you whinners are still flying…

  • http://www.cogitamusblog.com/2011/02/life-in-the-usa-a-photo-album.html Lisa Simeone

    No, jaun, not all of us “whiners” are still flying. Some of us have stopped, even though it’s an enormous sacrifice.

    Because there are still some of us out here who value our rights more than our convenience.

  • matt

    “Banning TSA from a restaurant. Seems a little harsh, doesn’t it?”

    NO!

  • Sommer Gentry

    Hey Jaun,

    I’m not still flying. And neither is Alaska State Representative Sharon Cissna. We cancelled all of our flights and now we’re busy fighting. When did you plan to get on the side of right and start fighting for basic human decency?

  • matt

    “I find TSA security theater as ridiculous and annoying as the next guy, and I wish there were an effective way to weed out that minority of TSA agents who are on way too much of a power trip and missed their calling to be East German Stasi border guards. ”

    the problem isnt the guards, its the policy!

  • matt

    people are being looted by these thugs on a daily basis…..we’ve had enough!

  • mickey j

    “jaun February 24, 2011 at 7:55 am

    And yet all of you whinners are still flying…:”
    —-

    speak for yourself…..I havnt and WON’T fly under TSA b.s.

  • http://mark.atwood.name/ Mark Atwood

    I live in Seattle, and I fly out of SeaTac International regularly

    I want to know where this cafe is, so I can go eat there regularly.

  • Mike Z

    Chris, I just read your newest post and since the entries were closed in that one I felt the need to post here.

    I felt that you outing the actual name of the person was in very poor taste and against what journalists should stand for. She came to you and wanted to remain out of the public eye and you not only published her IP address but also her name.

    And so what if this was a hoax. It was about a place not wanting to serve TSA agents. I would argue that if it was a hoax, it should have led to real businesses doing the same.

  • Christopher Elliott

    @mike z – Clawson never requested anonymity for herself, only for her employer. I have honored that.

    Do I want to know the name of the cafe? Sure. But unless she tells me, you won’t read it here.

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  • R Lee

    If this restaurant exists, I’d pay double and triple prices for a meal to salute this owner.

    I recently went through the enhanced patdown. As I was walking away like an obedient sheep, I realized that I was part of the problem. So I asked the TSA officer if I could speak to her. She assented and I said “You attempted to be respectful, and I appreciate that you are just doing your job. But you need to tell your bosses that I’m not a criminal. Neither are all those people in that line. None of us deserve to be looked at under our clothes or touched between our legs in order to get on a plane. It’s wrong, and you know its wrong. And you know what? Most people are afraid to tell you the truth. But many passengers don’t see TSA as being much different than the terrorists. You need to tell your bosses. No one should be treated this way.” I was shaking when I told her all this. And I could see in her face that she knew I was right. She had that deer in headlights look of someone whose job has somehow become something indecent, which it has.

    We need to slam our congressman and senators with our holy rage. We need to tell anyone we know working for the TSA that they are an object of derision, of scorn, by the public that travels. We need to rebel, in every non-violent way there is. TSA needs to GO!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Tyler Leonard

    You talk all kinds of smack about TSA, but they are people who are just trying to put food on the table, and keep a roof over their kids’ heads. Many have advanced degrees, but a fat lot of good that does when the jobs go oversees. Sooner or later, you or someone you know will be unemployed. Then, you will be faced with the choice of either joining TSA or becoming a 99er, because there is nothing else left for American citizens.

  • David

    Tyler, that’s a damn lie and I know it. I’ve had ample opportunity to apply for TSA positions and decided I’d rather have a clean conscience than take Caesars coin. So what did this former IT professional do? I learned how to drive a truck, got out of the cubicle, and work outdoors in the oil field. Hard? Damn straight! But doable and honest. There are plenty of opportunities out there even if they’re not optimal and to sell your soul for a bowl of convenient porridge is a pathetic excuse just to abuse people, degree or no degree. It goes to show that “education” doesn’t create either a moral or intelligent human being.

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  • Steve Wilder

    What a brilliant idea. Every airport restaurant should advertise themselves as non-TSA to get more patrons.

  • http://www.cogitamusblog.com/2011/02/life-in-the-usa-a-photo-album.html Lisa Simeone

    Tyler Leonard February 25, 2011 at 4:40 am wrote:
    You talk all kinds of smack about TSA, but they are people who are just trying to put food on the table, and keep a roof over their kids’ heads. Many have advanced degrees, but a fat lot of good that does when the jobs go oversees. Sooner or later, you or someone you know will be unemployed. Then, you will be faced with the choice of either joining TSA or becoming a 99er, because there is nothing else left for American citizens.

    Commenter David already responded to this, but I have to add a caveat: Tyler’s message is, unfortunately, correct. And chilling. The only booming sector of the economy now is “security.” That’s for surveillance of various kinds, scanning, searching, groping, guarding, warrantless wiretapping, and all manner of infringement on our rights. Quoting from the New Jersey Star Ledger: “Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the TSA’s proposed budget for fiscal 2012, which raises spending 5.7 percent, to $8.1 billion. Much of the $459 million increase would go to hiring another 3,270 employees, for a total TSA work force of 58,401, most of them screeners.”

    This is a very worrisome trend. And with a down economy, people indeed will start taking any job they can get, no matter how base and degrading to themselves and others. TSA molester, DHS spy, or soldier of fortune — jobs, jobs, jobs — the benefits of a permanent state of war! We can thank our overlords — of both parties — for this.

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  • perlhaqr

    But what about the passenger who checked a bag containing $170,000? Isn’t that asking for trouble?

    Seriously? You went there with this?

    “Walking down that alley in that short skirt, what did she think was going to happen?”

    As for the restaurant, publicity would be a good thing for them. I know a dozen people who would go out of their way to support a place that was taking that sort of stand.

  • Sommer Gentry

    R Lee, that was a courageous and very admirable thing you did, standing up to the TSA agent and calmly explaining that her job had made her and every other TSA employee into an abuser: one who harasses, injures, and humiliates people needlessly. I can absolutely understand why you were shaking. I would have been terrified to stand there and tell a TSA agent the truth like that.

    We are all terrorized by this machine, and why shouldn’t we be scared? We are threatened with fines, arrest, unwanted sexual contact, indefinite detention, surrendering our right to travel, and even physical violence from these people and their LEO collaborators. Yes, I am too outraged to fly, but more than that, I am too afraid to fly. I do not exaggerate in the least to admit that I am terror-stricken by our domestic terrorists, the TSA.

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  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QGR5HVMLBPAML4T3YBXZTX4EZY Jeff L

    AWESOME JOB. BOYCOTT AIRPORTS AND SCREW THE TSA!

  • Frequent Upset Flyier

    TSA agents are mean, they think they are higher than you specialy the afro american girl TSA agent that I encounter in various airports. who the hell do they think they are?

  • A314941

    The majority of the TSA’s problem is that those same “people just trying to work in a tough economy” are the ones who do not enforce the policies consistently.

    I fly 10 times a week and experience the attitudes of TSA agents on an almost daily basis.

    The only thing TSA do on a regular basis is treat the public with disrespect and disdain.

  • A314941

    The majority of the TSA’s problem is that those same “people just trying to work in a tough economy” are the ones who do not enforce the policies consistently.

    I fly 10 times a week and experience the attitudes of TSA agents on an almost daily basis.

    The only thing TSA do on a regular basis is treat the public with disrespect and disdain.

  • Nblapaz

    Just want to share my horrible story with the TSA whenI presented my identification; Nexus pass with global entry to TSA officer who was uncertain so I ask to have someone else look at it as I have had no problems with it at other airports. He called Mr. Timothy C. Gregory who stepped me aside with my 82 year old mother.  While he was examining my card I mentioned that I have had no problems using this at other airports and it is listed on the TSA website.  I tried to offer him the envelope it came in that said trusted traveler instead with a judgmental voice told me to follow him.  I was place in a secure area while he left 20min with my card then returning with a paper to fill out. Not raising my voice and using Sir:  I said I did not understand why I was here that he should have the knowledge of my identification as it is on the TSA website.  I asked for his name and badge number then he left again for 20 min taking our boarding pass. When he returned he asked me for another ID which I gave him.  He asked why I did not offer this sooner, I said no one asked and I have had no problems using my Nexus. I said to him that I have been treated very unfairly that this should not of happened.  He said I should of not called him stupid or push my card in his face.  I NEVER mentioned stupid or pushed my card in his face (mother will witness that).  At this point my mother said to him that we have never been treated this way EVER and that this in not right!  She began to cry so I comforted her and began to cry myself for the way I was labeled and mistreated.  He expedited us quickly as we both could not stop crying.  But after passing through the XRay screening he had me patted down,which I also felt was very uncalled for.   This incident caused us to miss our plane and wait 12 hours in the airport until we could fly out.  During that time both mom and I were so upset, cold and exhausted from how we were mistreated  that we never want to return to the Richmond airport againl

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  • Anonymous

    No, The TSA embarreses everyone they serve. I am from another country, and they though I was terrorist and put me on pat-down. If you like being molesed, support your friends. There is a darker side to all this trouble.

  • Anonymous

    No, The TSA embarreses everyone they serve. I am from another country, and they though I was terrorist and put me on pat-down. If you like being molesed, support your friends. There is a darker side to all this trouble.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YG2TPIMYQPJNPODDIRH5YDDFHI Barbie

    I totally understand why they feel that way but in the end what good does it really do.  There are a few good TSA agents that probably don’t deserve his ban.  But I have been seriously mistreated and have filed a complaint but nothing has happened.  So where are our rights?  Seems there are procedures for complaining but nothing becomes of our complaints.  At least there is this speak out.  It feels good to post our concerns so I am sure that is what the cafe owner has done since nothing else seems to work. mmmmm What do you think?

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