On January 9, 2007, after years of pushing for new legislation, and as the only union representing the Transportation Security Administration workforce, the Amercian Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) congratulated the House of Representatives for passing the 9/11 Commission Bill, which included an amendment giving Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) collective bargaining, whistle blower protections, and appeal rights.

The Senate Homeland Security Committee will mark-up their bill on Friday morning, January 26. As of now, as a result of the unwillingness of Chairman Joe Lieberman, the House language that provides for collective bargaining rights for TSOs is not included in the Senate version. 

TSA subjects its employees to workplace discrimination, retaliation, adverse actions, mandatory overtime, and fear of speaking out on security issues.

We must speak up and act NOW to ensure that the amendment passed by the House of Representatives is included in the Senate version. Send the letter below to Senator Voinovich, member of the Sentate Homeland Security Committee voicing your support of inclusion of the House language in the Senate version guaranteeing collective bargaining rights for Transporation Security Officers.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I strongly support the inclusion of a provision that grants Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) collective bargaining rights and other labor rights in the 9/11 Commission Bill that will soon be considered by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

Since the inception of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) in 2002, TSOs have been denied basic union and labor rights afforded to federal employees. If this language is included in the bill, TSA employees would be granted basic labor rights, including whistle blower protection and collective bargaining rights.

To date, the agency's performance has been far short of exemplary. TSA has been plagued by operation problems at levels never experienced by any federal agency. Presently, it leads the federal government in employee atrition and injury rates. Union and other labor rights are necessary to ensure the highly trained, experienced, career screener workforce the public demands and the 9/11 Commission recommends.

Extension of collective bargaining rights to TSOs will not hinder the federal government's emergency response capability. Every federal agency labor contract includes language giving management the right to assign work and detail workers as necessary, including during times of emergency.

In closing, I urge you to support the provision in the 9/11 Commission Bill that would grant TSOs basic worker and labor rights. I would be pleased to discuss this issue further with you.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
January 24, 2007