Begin forwarded message: > http://snipurl.com/18he2 > > > N.Y. scanners spark union cries of "geoslavery" > Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:58 PM ET > > By Michelle Nichols > > NEW YORK (Reuters) - Every morning Dennis Colson, a surveyor at New > York City's Department of Design and Construction, begins his work > day by placing his hand on a scanner to log his time and attendance > at the office. > > The use of hand geometry and other biometric data, like facial and > iris recognition, is not new -- the University of Georgia pioneered > the use of hand geometry when it installed scanners in its student > dining hall in 1974. > > But the planned roll-out of hand geometry scanners in all New York > City government agencies has sparked union cries of "geoslavery" > and assertions that technology developed for security will be used > to track, label and control workforces. > > "It's frustrating, it's kind of an insult," Colson, 53, told > Reuters. "They are talking about going to voice and retina scanners > and that's an invasion of privacy in that they can track you > wherever you go." > > Jon Forster, of the Civil Service Technical Guild, which represents > Department of Design and Construction workers, said the biometric > systems gave the city a license to obtain personal, uniquely > identifiable data to track workers. > > "It's really a matter of this kind of technology having far > outstripped any legislation or even case law in the United States > in terms of what are the restrictions," Forster told Reuters. > > "On the one hand I think people might all agree that if you put a > GPS system in ambulances then that's a good thing. On the other > hand you have an employer in Ohio who has demanded that two of his > employees have chips implanted in their bodies." > > "If these are the extremes, the question is where does the line get > drawn?" he said. > > "The unions' arguments keep changing, but the tracking workers > throughout the day is not true. It's just for clicking in and out," > said Stu Loeser, spokesman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, > adding that there were no plans to install voice recognition or > iris scanners. > > IS HAND GEOMETRY THE REAL PROBLEM? > > Biometrics expert Jim Wayman, who consults for the U.S., British > and Australia governments, said mobile phones and credit cards were > the "No. 1 enemies" for workers worried about geoslavery, not > biometrics. > > "There may be large forces at work in western society wishing to > enslave the workforce. I want to acknowledge that fear. But hand > geometry is not part of this," Wayman, who has studied biometrics > for more than two decades, told Reuters. > > He said monitoring computer and phone usage were the "tools by > which an employer would seek to enslave the workforce -- it would > not be done through biometrics." > > In 2004, U.S. employers reportedly spent $9 billion on monitoring > devices for the workplace, while a 2005 survey by American > Management Association and The ePolicy Institute found 76 percent > of companies monitor workers Web site use. > > The survey of 526 U.S. companies also showed 36 percent of > employers track computer content, keystrokes and time spent at the > keyboard, while half store and review employees' computer files and > 55 percent retain and review e-mail messages. > > Only 5 percent used GPS in phones and 8 percent used GPS in company > vehicles, while fingerprint scanning only accounted for 5 percent, > facial recognition 2 percent and iris scans 0.5 percent. > > "Most people in the industry are surprised that biometrics devices > have not become more widespread already," Wayman said. > > "There is a 40 year history of implementation of biometric devices, > but use of these devices has never become widely popular and one of > the reasons is they are thoroughly expensive to use and it's not > clear the cost savings in their use." > > © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or > redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or > similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written > consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are > registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of > companies around the world. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TELECOM-CITIES Current searchable archives (Feb. 1, 2006 to present) at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Old searchble archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
