President's Column - Could Unsafe Imports Be An Act Of Terrorism?

By
Jim Weyrauch, President AFGE Local 644

I don’t usually ascribe to conspiracy theories but can’t help but wonder, in this age of heightened security and paranoia, why the government doesn’t look more closely at the tainted food, unsafe toys and other dangerous cargos crossing our borders. The Department of Homelands Security and all of the federal /state and local agencies charged with the protection of our country seem to be obsessed with searching for alleged terrorist from under every bush no matter how they trample on civil liberties but don’t seem to be concerned with cargo that comes through our ports and across our borders everyday.

It is been reported that Customs only inspects 5% of cargo that comes through our ports and usually permits cargo addressed to large companies such as Wal-Mart to go through without inspection. Most of that cargo comes from suspect nations, such as China and other countries on Bush’s Axis of Evil It is the same with food and drugs, very little inspection by both Customs and the Federal Drug Agency or the Consumer Product Safety Commission or Food Inspections. With this lax inspection protocol one could put forth the premise that terrorists are already in the country could have WMDS shipped here with little or no expectation of detection.

If the definition of Terrorism is causing harm to American citizens and destroying our infrastructure doesn’t the import of tainted and unsafe food and drugs, toys and other products containing high levels of lead meet the same criteria?

Millions of toys containing lead and other toxic materials pass through our ports uninspected, unchecked and even protected by those whose responsibility it is to stop tainted materials. This is not the hard working inspectors, customs agents or enforcement agents at the ports and borders who daily stand on the wall, willing to give their all to protect our country. Those decisions and protocols are made by the political appointees and agencies heads that salute and don’t challenge the bypass of the laws their agency is mandated to enforce. These decisions are to see that an undue burden is not placed on commerce rather than safeguarding our health and welfare.

Millions of pounds of tainted and unsafe food are passed through our borders unchecked every year. Every so often, at a higher rate than usual in 2007, either citizens or pets become ill or die. When there is a public outcry, the government agency charged with the responsibility mandates a recall, warning the public to be vigilant and moves on. The Corporation that imported the product has a Press Conference, recalls the product and assures us that stiffer inspection measures will be enforced but never addresses why the stiff and vigilant measures already in place didn’t work. Neither the company that imported the product nor the company abroad that provided the product and violated the “stiff inspection measures” already in place are held responsible. The Agency head and the Corporation CEO look glum, vowing stronger inspections and that it will not occur again and on to business as usual.

Back in Washington, Congress debates the issues, arguing over who is tougher on enforcement , and promising to enact stricter laws and bigger budgets for inspection and then funds the building of higher fences on the Mexican border with more electronic surveillance to catch the Illegal Aliens and potential Terrorists. A joint Press conference is held by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Directors of the other agencies standing at the podium promising much more security while cajoling people to ever vigilant and report any strange behavior of their neighbors, especially if they speak with an accent or wear odd clothing.

If it is the duty of the federal, state and local governments to protect the public, then they should do it thoroughly. All of the cargo should be inspected, no matter how long it takes. If tainted food or drugs or unsafe toys or other products are found, confiscate and charge the companies with whatever sanctions are in the law. The American companies who do not provide the due diligence required should be punished. These corporations deserve no breaks to pawn off unsafe products to the public, just because it only happens infrequently. We need to realize that there are laws other than the Patriotic Act, phone and internet snooping that protect us from harm.

Maybe instead of looking through the dumpsters and garbage cans for evidence, we could start looking through the cargo bays of ships for the hazardous products crossing our borders and coming through our ports.