The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that it is ending the collective bargaining agreement for the Transportation Security Administration and its thousands of officers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The agency said the change was to remove "bureaucratic hurdles that will strengthen workforce agility, enhance productivity and resiliency, while also jumpstarting innovation." In a statement, the DHS said there are more TSA employees focused on union work than on screening passengers. No workers will be fired as a result of the change, according to DHS.
Union officials have pushed back, arguing that the TSA will experience a high turnover of employees if there aren't protections in place for wages.
"Nobody wants to work in a place where you have no rights or workplace protections," said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer for the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council and a 22-year TSA employee. He said the decision is a violation of the law.
The TSA union described the changed as an "unprovoked attack" and promised to fight the administration, calling Republican assessments of the TSA "completely fabricated."
Then-TSA Administrator David Pekoske said last May at the signing ceremony for the deal, "If we didn't have this CBA, if we didn't have this pay package, I would submit to you, we probably wouldn't have a TSA in five or 10 years. That's how important it is."
The union represents more than 40,000 TSA employees. The labor contact signed last year was scheduled to run until 2031.
The TSA was established in 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks and the union has represented TSA employees since 2003. The DHS said the adjustment will enable employees to be promoted and earn opportunities based on individual performance and "not longevity or union membership."
"Thanks to Secretary [Kristi] Noem's action, Transportation Security Officers will no longer lose their hard-earned dollars to a union that does not represent them," read a statement from a DHS spokesperson in a press release.
"The Trump administration is committed to returning to merit-based hiring and firing policies. This action will ensure Americans will have a more effective and modernized workforce across the nation's transportation networks. TSA is renewing its commitment to providing a quick and secure travel process for Americans."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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