JFK airport guards fired for sleeping on the job

LONDON - Nine private security guards at the John F. Kennedy International Airport have been fired this year for sleeping on the job, a media report said Tuesday.

But the supervisor responsible for getting many of them sacked is still on the job — even though he, too, was caught snoozing, the New York Post said citing employees.

The incidents came to light after several of the dismissed guards filed union grievances after supervisor Ronald Denig and at least one other boss snapped pictures of them while they were sleeping on duty.

The guards earn a minimum of $16.99 an hour working for Covenant Aviation Security, a Port Authority (PA) contractor. Denig and other supervisors make about $10 an hour more.

In addition to the nine guards, others may also have been sacked, but it’s unclear how many because some went quietly, without protesting to their union.

One source said as many as 10 additional guards have been given pink slips for similar offences in the last two months alone.

A picture of Denig allegedly snoozing was taken by a colleague of the dismissed guards — who sneaked up on him while he was sleeping in a company car, parked in a deserted lot, sources said.

It was the kind of revenge angry guards had dreamed about — but they soon got a rude awakening. That’s because Denig’s on-the-job siesta earned the equivalent of a big yawn from his bosses, who hit him with only a five-day suspension.

“These guards are the first line of defence at the airport,” said a PA police official. “Obviously, if they’re sleeping, it’s something that cannot be tolerated.”

The guards’ duties include patrolling near tarmacs, examining vehicles that pass through sensitive areas, checking unoccupied buildings, and examining airport employees to make sure they have proper ID, sources say.