When I was 16 years old and in high school in Chicago, I worked as a security screener for an Air France and Lufthansa contractor at O’Hare International Airport.
My job included running the metal detectors at the gate entrance and sometimes, at times of heightened security, searching bags by hand.
I received no training and was paid minimum wage.
As I travel today, I recognize the lackadaisical folks who populate our airport security checkpoints–more interested in what’s going on tonight than what’s going on at the gate, chatting each other up, playing games to deal with the repetitious boredom.
That was me 25 years ago.
It’s a lesson we learned only too well Tuesday: Pay minimum wage for airport security and you’ll get minimum-wage results.
We need professionally trained, experienced security personnel at our airports, and we need to pay them a real salary.
