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Washington, D.C.—The internal dispute resolution mechanisms put in place by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to address workplace issues rather than permit employees to have collective bargaining rights are so ineffective they are threatening the nation’s security.

That, said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), is “the devastating and obvious conclusion” of a report by the inspector general of TSA’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The report, which was dated May 2008 but became public in a recent news report in USA Today, demonstrates the blatant unfairness of the systems put in place by TSA in lieu of granting these employees the same collective bargaining rights other federal employees have.

“This report provides clear evidence of the need for collective bargaining rights for TSA employees including an effective and negotiated grievance procedure and having issues heard and decided by a neutral and outside third-party arbitrator,” the NTEU leader said. NTEU is leading the fight for legislation that would provide TSA employees with such rights.

The IG’s report (OIG-08-62) specifically addresses TSA’s Office of the Ombudsman, Integrated Conflict Management System and National Advisory Council.

It concludes that because these programs do not successfully address long-standing workplace issues effectively, they may in fact provide “false hope and have the unanticipated effects of heightening employee dissatisfaction and further undermining morale.”

The IG report underscores criticisms both NTEU and TSA employees consistently have leveled at the agency over a variety of workplace issues, including pay, promotions, discipline, hiring practices, management misconduct, significant staffing shortages and more.

“Given their frustrations,” the IG said, “employees may be distracted and less focused on their security and screening responsibilities. These factors could, in turn, adversely affect TSA’s overall transportation security mission by increasing turnover and decreasing workforce stability.”

The IG report cited instances of TSA managers using intimidation tactics to discourage employees from taking advantage of internal processes. For instance, one employee was allegedly reprimanded for talking with the Ombudsman’s office and then reprimanded a second time when the employee complained about the reprimand to the Ombudsman’s office. In another reported example, a manager recorded the names of employees attending a focus group held by the Ombudsman’s office.

TSA’s top leadership has said that a stable, mature and experienced workforce is the most effective tool the agency has in meeting its mission, but the IG report pointed out that TSA has a voluntary attrition rate of 17 percent annually—among the highest in government—and, as with a number of DHS operations, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), suffers from extraordinarily low employee morale.

“TSA may not like what its own inspector general is telling it,” said President Kelley, “but this report is a welcome wake-up call—particularly for senior management at TSA—that this agency’s bull-headed approach to managing its workforce is a real threat to our nation. It is an approach that demands to be changed, and the best solution is to give employees a meaningful voice in their workplace. The way to do that is by providing them with collective bargaining rights.”

Said Kelley, “NTEU will continue its work in Congress to gain basic workplace rights for these employees who play such a vital role in the security of our skies and our nation.”