U.S. Security Screeners to Vote on Joining Labor Union
The nation’s 45,000 airport-security screeners will be allowed to vote on joining a union to negotiate on shift assignments, job transfers and awards, the Transportation Security Administration said.
Screeners will vote on joining the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Treasury Employees Union or no union, the agency said today in a statement.
Screeners won’t be able to bargain over security-related issues such as pay, job qualifications and discipline standards, according to the statement.
“The safety of the traveling public is our top priority and we will not negotiate on security,” TSA Administrator John Pistole said in the statement. “Morale and employee engagement cannot be separated from achieving superior security.”
Labor leaders have sought union representation for TSA employees for about nine years. When the agency was created in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it was exempt from regulations that permit federal workers to vote on joining a union. TSA administrators were able to grant collective bargaining rights, an authority used for the first time today.
An election is scheduled to start March 9 and end April 9 and will be overseen by the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which oversees relations between the government and its workers.
Security officers will remain barred from striking or participating in work slowdowns if they vote to join a union, according to the TSA statement.
Union Leaders’ Meeting
Pistole met today with John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which had pressed the agency to give the security officers collective-bargaining rights.
“They will elect a union,” Gage said on a conference call with reporters. “It’s maybe not everything that we would have wanted, but it’s definitely a decision and a platform that we can represent the best interest” of screeners and the safety of the flying public.
Pistole also met with Colleen Kelley, the National Treasury Employees Union president. The union will act quickly to begin elections and draft a contract, according to a statement.
“Protecting the rights and working conditions of transportation security officers will improve their ability to do their jobs -- which protects our national security,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in an e-mail.
Senator Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, said collective bargaining will enhance travel security.
‘Better Security’
“I support collective bargaining for transportation security officers because I believe that is the path toward achieving higher job performance and, therefore, better security for our nation,” Lieberman said in a statement.
The American Federation of Government Employees is an AFL- CIO affiliate and the largest government-employee union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal and District of Columbia governments.
The National Treasury Employees Union, which has been seeking to sign up TSA employees, represents 150,000 employees in 31 federal agencies and departments, according to its website. Both unions have been involved in getting representation for airport screeners.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stephanie Armour in Washington at sarmour@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at lliebert@bloomberg.net.
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