AFGE Mourns the Passing of TSO Rights Champion Andrea Brooks

Washington, D.C., May 7, 2009 – The American Federation of Government Employees is mourning the passing of one of its staunch supporters of TSO rights, National Vice President for Women and Fair Practices Andrea E. Brooks, who passed away on April 26 at the age of 65.

NVP Brooks was one of the first members of the AFGE Executive Board to call for the unionization of Transportation Security Officers and was a vocal ally in the effort to keep the fight for collective bargaining going, even when it seemed to some that it might be impossible to achieve. NVP Brooks' commitment to the union's fight to win workplace protections for TSOs never waivered despite the many obstacles that this eight-year organizing campaign has faced.

NVP Brooks' position in the union movement was unique. While other unions' top officers usually include a president, executive vice president, secretary-treasurer, and vice presidents, AFGE has at the national level a vice president who's responsible exclusively for promoting civil rights, tracking employment trends and fighting against discrimination in all levels of the federal and D.C. governments. AFGE's Women and Fair Practices Department has handled more than 320 Equal Employment Opportunity cases for TSOs – a direct result of NVP Brooks' tireless dedication to the elimination of workplace discrimination at TSA. 

"Andrea was a proponent of the TSO rights campaign since Day 1," said AFGE President John Gage. "We are deeply saddened by the tremendous loss of a great labor leader and I am personally grief-stricken over the loss of such a dear friend and loyal union sister."

One of AFGE's two members of the powerful AFL-CIO Executive Committee, NVP Brooks never lost sight of her vision for AFGE to move into the forefront of civil rights activism. She believed that too often people of color and women let others define -- and contain them. She worked to mobilize a civil rights movement of all workers throughout the United States.

NVP Brooks is survived by three adult children (two sons and one daughter), six grandchildren, and the hundreds of thousands of union members she leaves to carry on her important work.  A memorial service will be held in her honor Friday, May 8, 2009 at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, DC.