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Austin, Texas—Fair pay and civil service protections were the main topics of discussion as several Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) recently met with U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) to gain his support for a key bill now pending before the House of Representatives that would improve morale for this critical homeland security workforce.

The meeting was arranged by Chapter 323 (TSA Austin) of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). The nation’s largest independent union of federal workers established a TSA chapter at AUS in May at the request of local TSA employees who want strong and effective workplace representation. NTEU represents thousands of TSA employees at airports from Maine to California—including five airports in Texas—and is actively organizing at many more.

During the meeting, Rep. Doggett expressed his strong support for H.R. 1881, the Transportation Security Workforce Enhancement Act of 2009, which was approved by the House Homeland Security Committee last month. If approved by both the House and the Senate and signed into law, H.R. 1881 would provide TSA employees with full collective bargaining rights and move them onto the pay system that covers the majority of federal employees.

Since its creation in 2001, workforce morale at TSA has been plagued by a lack of collective bargaining rights for its employees. “There is no reason that TSA employees should be denied the right to collectively bargain,” NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said. “Through collective bargaining employees can have a say in their working conditions and help make TSA the world’s most effective airport security agency.”

The current TSA pay system is a second factor feeding low morale in the agency. “Employees believe that the pay system is highly subjective and dependent on the whims of management,” Kelley said. “Meanwhile their federal employee colleagues are paid on a system that recognizes merit and that has clear and transparent policies.”

Not only is fair pay and civil service protections for TSOs a priority issue for NTEU, it also is a key component of NTEU’s comprehensive five-point plan for the TSA workforce—a concrete set of goals that will address key concerns of employees nationwide. The plan not only calls for collective bargaining rights and an end to the current pay system, it also calls for full whistleblower protections by statute; a fair shift-scheduling system and adequate staffing; and revisions to the current TSA training and recertification system.

President Kelley emphasized that NTEU is uniquely qualified to represent TSA employees, given its long history of representing other federal employees who work in our nation’s airports and protect our security.

NTEU represented U.S. Customs Service employees for more than 30 years and now is the exclusive representative of the 24,000-employee unit of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which was formed by the merger of Customs and two other agencies.

The largest independent federal union, NTEU represents some 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.