TSA announced today that Gold+ is being replaced. We covered the announcement separately.
This is about how the workforce was told.
For the announcement itself, see TSA Says Gold+ Will Be Replaced.
The Memo
Administrator David P. Cummins sent a message to the entire TSA workforce today, the same day as the public press release.
It runs five paragraphs.
The first introduces the Horizon 25 Strategy and describes bringing together innovators and groundbreakers from headquarters and the field.
The second describes working with in-house innovators over the next month or so on passenger experience, TSA PreCheck, streamlining technology acquisition, deploying new tools to the workforce, and countering cyber and unmanned aircraft threats.
The third calls it an exciting and challenging effort.
The fourth reads, in its entirety:
The fifth closes on the Golden Age of Travel.
What It Does Not Say
It does not name Tampa, Des Moines, or Charleston.
It does not say what happens to officers at those airports.
It does not say what an evolved Screening Partnership Program is, or how it differs from the program that has operated since 2002.
It does not give a timeline.
It does not acknowledge that officers at three airports have spent the last month in transition briefings, retirement sessions, and severance worksheets built around a program that is now being replaced.
The Same Sentence, Twice
The sentence in the workforce memo is identical to the sentence in the public press release.
There is no internal explanation that the public did not receive. Officers learned exactly what a reporter learned, in exactly the same words, on the same day.
For officers at Tampa, a separate local message went out stating that as of today the airport will no longer be part of Gold+, and that official messaging from TSA and the airport would follow.
For officers at Des Moines and Charleston, this memo is what exists.
Tampa's Own Account
Tampa International Airport issued a statement the same day.
It says the airport conducted a full evaluation of Gold+ and elected to continue checkpoint screening with its existing federal TSA officers. It states that TSA approached TPA with the concept, that opting in allowed officials to learn program details before moving forward, and that the review ran over several months and covered security, workforce, technology, financial, and legal considerations.
TPA Chief Executive Officer Michael Stephens is quoted saying the airport approached Gold+ carefully and deliberately, with a focus on passengers, employees, airline partners, and long-term operational excellence, and thanking TSA for the opportunity to reach an informed decision.
Two things in that release are worth an officer's attention.
Screening at Tampa will continue to be performed by federal TSA officers. That is the answer more than 700 people have been waiting a month to receive.
And TSA approached the airport. Not the reverse. That now appears in an official airport statement, matching what the airport's Chief Operating Officer told the board on August 6.
What the release does not do is mention the announcement TSA made the same day. Tampa describes a decision it reached. TSA describes a program being replaced agency-wide. Neither document references the other, and nothing published so far explains how the two relate.
Why This Matters
We are not going to characterize anyone's intent. We do not know it.
What we can describe is the position an officer at Des Moines or Charleston is in tonight.
Their airport opted into a program. Over the past month, TSA has run virtual sessions, distributed retirement and severance materials, and scheduled on-site visits for September. Officers have been asked to think about their years of service, their retirement eligibility, their health coverage, and whether to stay federal.
Today they were told, in a subordinate clause of a modernization memo, that the program is being replaced. They were not told what replaces it, when, or what it means for them.
If you work at one of those airports and you are learning this from us rather than from your agency, that is the problem this piece is about.
What We Are Watching
Whether solicitation 70T05026R5900N005 receives a cancellation notice on SAM.gov. That would be the documentary confirmation of what happens to the contract vehicle and to the proposals submitted July 31.
Whether TSA and the airports publish the official messaging Tampa's notice promised.
Whether Des Moines and Charleston are told anything specific, and when.
What an evolved Screening Partnership Program actually is.
We will update this piece as those documents appear.
If you want to understand how any of this applies to your own situation, that is a conversation worth having. It costs you nothing. againstgiantsllc.com/get-help.html or info@againstgiantsllc.com