AFGE Demands Repeal of DFW's Leave Policy  

TSOs Disciplined for Justified Unscheduled Leave

Washington, D.C., July 22, 2009 – The American Federation of Government Employees is demanding that the Dallas/Fort Worth Transportation Security Administration immediately end its unfair Attendance Control Program after several employees were penalized for taking justified unscheduled leave.

In a July 8 letter to DFW Federal Security Director Cedric Alexander, AFGE said ACP is seriously flawed and demoralizes workers as employees will receive a letter of counseling if they take three unscheduled leaves in a three-month period regardless of circumstances or approval of their immediate supervisors.

TSO Ron Geffen, for example, was issued a letter of counseling two months ago because he took off early a few days before after his supervisor recommended that he go home to take care of his ill wife and daughter who needed to be tested for swine flu. The letter, issued by a screening manager who overrode the employee's supervisor, stated that Geffen would be placed on leave restriction if he continued to take excessive unscheduled leave or if his pattern of abuse persisted. This is disturbing because Geffen's sick leave balance at the time was 219.5 hours.

Geffen was not a rare case. AFGE has received reports that employees at DFW with more than 300 hours of sick leave have been issued letters of counseling for taking unscheduled leave. These letters demoralize employees and hurt their chance of promotion.

"Although the intention of the ACP may have been the creation of a system that allows for a more consistent application of TSA attendance policy, it has resulted in the increase of needless adverse actions," AFGE Staff Counsel Chad Harris said in the letter to FSD Alexander. "Everyone needs to occasionally take unscheduled leave, but the ACP automatically issues letters of counseling or letters of reprimand without an analysis of the particular circumstances that necessitated the unscheduled leave use."

TSOs are not the only ones upset by the program. Many of the DFW supervisors don't like it either. In a number of cases, the supervisor disagreed with the issuance of the letters and spent hours trying to undo it. Occasionally they were able to overturn an adverse action, but the time it took to correct a problem which never should have occurred in the first place wasted valuable management resources. The program also puts unnecessary pressure and burden on supervisors who want to do the right thing, but do not want to appear defiant of their managers or policy.

AFGE has asked the FSD at DFW to immediately repeal the policy, revoke all letters of counseling, letters of reprimand, and leave restrictions previously issued under the program, and allow supervisors to make the final determination on the issuance of these letters. To view the letter to FSD Alexander about the ACP, please visit the AFGE TSA Web site at www.tsaunion.net.  

If you are experiencing similar problems with unscheduled leave at your airport, please contact your Local AFGE representative.

This Just In...

AFGE Saves Job of LAX TSO: Today an AFGE attorney met with the AFSD for LAX airport on behalf of an LTSO who received a notice of proposed removal. The attorney was able to obtain a Last Chance Agreement for one year instead of termination. Under the agreement, the LTSO won't suffer a pay band reduction or demotion.