T455, I think a nation wide one-day suspension of service in protest of the treatment we are receiving would be a good start.
Our union has already made the recommendation that flight crews stay together at security. No one leaves until we all get through. It has become so bad; the problems are so numerous, that we need to have witnesses in this “us against them” battle.
If the police or NG detains you after you showed proper identification, only give them your name rank and employee number. Ask for a lawyer immediately. Say nothing else. We still have our Miranda rights.
If you are treated in such a way as to cause you emotional distress, abused, arrested, detained, or hassled, wait until you feel better before operating an aircraft. Take an hour or two or as long as it takes to calm down. Go home if you feel you cannot concentrate on the job of flying. Be safe.
Stick together and support your coworkers, the other pilots and flight attendants. Do not expect any help from the “trusted employees”. They seem to think that just because they can come in the backdoor, without going through security, they are somehow better than us. We are seeing them become just as bad as the security people. They have turned against pilots and flight attendants on numerous occasions.
Our management wants us to put on a show to make the public feel better. It is backfiring in their face. The show at security is turning into a three-ring-circus. The flying public sees how ridiculous it is. I hear them say how stupid it is for flight crews to be searched every day.
In recent poles here in the US the majority wanted pilots to be armed. They want us to protect them and keep them safe even if it means using deadly force. But our management doesn’t want us to be armed. When a man recently tried to force his way into the cockpit a pilot hit him with the fire axe. The pubic loved it. They were glad the pilot had a weapon and that he used it. That’s what they want to see. They want us to part of the solution. They want us to be the final level of security.
Airports can never be made 100% secure. The airport robbery in England proves that. And when they say they have better security than we do here in the US, I have no reason not to believe them. So where does that leave us? I’ll tell you where. We now have the greatest show on earth. The multi-billion-dollar security show.