TSA renews push to end collective bargaining agreement for airport security screeners

The Transportation Safeguard Administration is renewing Homeland Precaution Secretary Kristi Noem s push to end a collective bargaining agreement with airport screening officers the second such attempt this year and one that comes just a month after the longest authorities shutdown on record Related Articles What to know about Trump s draft proposal to curtail state AI regulations Critically wounded National Guard member being moved to in-patient rehabilitation Speaker Johnson scrambles to find a wellbeing care plan as Republicans remain divided Justice Department sues more states for access to detailed voter statistics Belarus leader hosts US envoy as he seeks to improve his country s ties with the West The agency noted Friday the move is based on a September memo from Noem that says TSA screeners have a primary function of national measure and therefore should not engage in collective bargaining or be represented by a union The American Federation of Leadership Employees swiftly vowed to fight the decision calling it illegal and a violation of a federal judge s preliminary injunction issued in June that blocked Noem s first attempt to terminate the contract representing workers Emailed requests for comment were sent to TSA and Homeland Guard TSA announced it plans to rescind the current seven-year contract in January and replace it with a new security-focused framework The agreement was supposed to expire in Adam Stahl acting TSA deputy administrator noted in a declaration that airport screeners need to be focused on their mission of keeping travelers safe Under the leadership of Secretary Noem we are ridding the agency of wasteful and time-consuming exercises that distracted our officers from their crucial work Stahl noted The announcement also comes weeks after Noem held a news conference in which she handed out bonus checks to TSA officers who she commented went above and beyond during the -day shutdown when thousands of airport screeners continued reporting for duty despite missing more than six weeks of pay during the lapse in funding U S Homeland Protection Secretary Kristi Noem right shakes hands with Transportation Protection Administration Officer Monica Degro at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport Saturday Nov in Las Vegas AP Photo Ronda Churchill Merely days ago Secretary Noem celebrated TSA officers for their dedication during the longest regime shutdown in history AFGE National President Everett Kelley explained in a announcement In the present day she s announcing a lump of coal right on time for the holidays that she s stripping those same dedicated officers of their union rights AFGE entered into the collective bargaining agreement with TSA last May But Noem issued a memo on Feb rescinding that agreement and TSA notified the union a week later that the contract had been terminated and all pending grievances would be deleted The union sued claiming the move was retaliation for AFGE s resistance to the Trump administration s attacks on federal workers A trial is in the present scheduled for next year The Trump administration has been laying the groundwork to weaken or eliminate protections for federal workers as it moves swiftly to shrink the bureaucracy In granting a preliminary injunction in June U S District Judge Marsha Pechman of Seattle mentioned the order was necessary to preserve the rights and benefits TSA workers have long held under union representation Pechman wrote that AFGE had shown in its lawsuit that Noem s directive constitutes impermissible retaliation likely violated the union s due process and was arbitrary and capricious findings that the judge reported make it likely AFGE will ultimately prevail