Port Workers Begin Enrollment for TWIC

TSA reported that port workers, longshoremen, truckers and others employed at the Port of Green Bay, the Port of Pittsburgh and Port of Texas City recently began to enroll in the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. Nationwide, more than 1 million workers with unescorted access to secure areas will apply for TWIC during the rest of 2008.

TSA said that there are 54 ports are currently enrolling people through the program, which began on Oct. 16, 2007. Ultimately, established fixed enrollment centers will be in place at 147 ports along with mobile enrollment centers at dozens of other locations as needed. Certain port workers are able to pre-enroll for TWIC online or at the Coast Guard's Homeport site. Pre-enrolling speeds up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person. This eliminates waiting at enrollment centers and reduces the time it takes to enroll each individual.