Transportation Security Administration officers rallied at Detroit Metro Airport on Wednesday afternoon, demanding more armed personnel at airports across the country.
Alan Jackimowicz is American Federation of Government Employees Council 100 Executive Vice President. He represents 46,000 TSA screeners in the U.S. He suggests Congress cut spending overseas to pay for improved domestic airport security.
“The No.1 priority is to protect our own people in our own country – No. 1! There should be no other priority,” he said.
Last month, unarmed TSA officers told people in the New Orleans airport to run from a man trying to attack them with a machete. He says that should a be a “wake-up call” for Congress about the need to improve airport security.
He says if local airports can’t afford increasing the number of armed guards before TSA checkpoints, the federal government should pay for armed guards to stop terrorists at the front door.
“They’re not going to hit it from the checkpoint back anymore; it’s from the street forward. We need to be proactive instead of reactive,” he said.
