TSA, Like Your Local Grocery Store, Says Workers Aren't Allowed To Sit

The Trump Administration seems to really hate the Transportation Security Administration. First the government shutdown robbed TSA agents of their pay, then it led airports to consider privatizing the workers entirely — and that's not to mention what a change in shoe-removal rules would do to our nation's most patriotic feet fetishists. Now, the administration is making things even worse for TSA workers by taking away their ability to sit. It seems the official stance of the Trump White House is that if you have time to lean, you have time to clean. 

CNN reported on the change, which affects TSA agents who check IDs and boarding passes before flyers enter the Penis Detector. TSA says this is a "welcome change" and created "a welcoming and professional environment for travelers," which sounds like every grocery store manager who won't let checkout clerks sit. The TSA union, however, isn't on board — the group says its chairs are "basic ergonomic and safety support for officers," and says their removal violates "basic safety and common decency for the workforce." 

The takes, on both sides, are the same thing that most of us have heard in some industry or another — checkout clerks, baristas, anyone who stands in place at their job knows the "professionalism" argument well. The points against the change, from TSA agents on Reddit, are just as familiar: Reactions like "It has never ever bothered me if anyone sits as long as they can get the job done" and "Make no mistake this is a health check." When TSA agents work eight-hour shifts checking IDs, there's really not much reason for them to have to stand the whole time.

Hopefully, the TSA union will fight this extraordinarily dumb change and get its chairs back. It's bad enough that we make cashiers stand in the United States, there's truly no reason to make TSA agents do it. I, for one, disagree with any change that makes the person checking my ID and boarding pass even grumpier.