WASHINGTON — Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, President and Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), issued this statement in response to Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s announcement ending collective bargaining for more than 40,000 Transportation Security Officers employed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA):
“This is a reckless move by the Homeland Secretary and creates additional risk in our aviation security system. Transportation Security Officers are already treated as second-class citizens among federal employees as they have continually been deprived of the Title 5 pay and schedule work rights granted to nearly all other federal employees. This maneuver is also a betrayal of the seven-year bargaining agreement that TSA just signed last year with the union to provide some of these hard-fought employee benefits. It will assuredly drive away employees as air travel and airport security screenings are at an all-time high, adding significant delays to an already strained system if we do not have the workforce to meet the demand.
“The Transportation Security Administration was born from the aftermath of the worst domestic terror attack on American soil. For more than 20 years, Transportation Security Officers have strengthened our aviation security at more than 400 airports across the nation. These dedicated officers provide a primary layer of security screening for nearly 3 million airline passengers daily and more than 10 million scheduled commercial flights annually. Every day, they serve on the frontlines of our aviation security transportation network to keep commercial aviation safe and secure. These officers routinely identify and confiscate weapons at airport security checkpoints, setting a record just last year for the number of firearms confiscated before they could be brought onto flights. For their essential service to our nation, these workers have more than earned the right to collectively bargain and improve their working conditions. We stand with our siblings at the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) in fighting to restore the rights of this essential workforce.”
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