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Port Workers to Undergo Background Checks

 We recently spotted this article from Associated Press on Breitbart“

By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON

Answering criticism about security gaps at U.S. seaports, the Bush administration said Tuesday it will conduct background checks on an estimated 400,000 port workers to ensure they do not pose a terrorist threat.

Names of employees who work in the most sensitive areas of ports will be matched against government terror watch lists and immigration databases, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. Additionally, the Homeland Security Department will issue tamper-free identification cards to roughly 750,000 workers _ including truckers and rail employees _ who have unrestricted assess to ports.”

I suppose all we can say is, it’s about time.   With all the rhetoric about securing the borders and defending ourselves against undocumented workers, it’s pretty amazing that nobody thought that perhaps if even a miniscule amount of the 400, 000 dockworkers had a suspicious backgrond that would still be a substantial amount to warrant investigation.  Just a small percentage of 400,00 dockworkers, as sabateurs, could create havoc and destruction.   Well from Corra’s standpoint, as a background checking service, this is but one more place where employees should receive a throrough background check before being cast into the workplace.
At the end of the day, with all cost considerations being what they are, nothing is cheaper than spending a few bucks to run a background check.  Ultimately, it will bring more positive results than even the most advanced technology and surveillance security devices.

 

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.