NTEU’s top two leaders recently visited the Calexico West land port of entry to meet with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) members and tour a major expansion project underway there.
The third busiest land port of entry in California, 4 million cars and 4.8 million pedestrians cross Calexico northbound each year.
Last month, Chapter 123—which represents 445 Calexico CBP employees—arranged for National President Tony Reardon and National Executive Vice President Jim Bailey to tour the construction site. Construction is ongoing on the downtown port of entry’s phase 1 project and is scheduled to be completed this fall. Once completed, phase 1 will add new inspection booths and lanes, as well as a new headhouse and secondary inspection station.
“I am pleased that the port will have a much-needed expansion so that CBP Officers can more efficiently process vehicles and passengers,” said President Reardon. “But any efforts to address long border crossing wait times at Calexico must include hiring more staffing.”
Reardon and Bailey also took the time to meet with employees, listen to their workplace concerns and answer questions. Chapter 123 hosted a meeting off-site where President Reardon provided updates on NTEU’s lawsuit against three anti-union executive orders, legislative efforts to boost CBP staffing and the 2019 pay raise. The NTEU leader also emphasized the importance of voting in the midterm election.
“It matters to you, as a federal employee, who sits in Congress, and their positions and votes on issues such as pay raises, cuts to retirement benefits and whether unions can operate at agencies,” he said.