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El Paso, Texas—Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees here took advantage of an opportunity to meet with U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) yesterday at his Texas office and discuss a range of workplace issues including the need for a fair pay system and better working conditions.

The meeting between the congressman and the Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) was arranged by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) which has been vigorously pursuing a comprehensive five-point program to secure and protect the rights and interests of TSA employees including the need for additional staffing at the airports and fair scheduling practices that allow employees to balance their work and home responsibilities.

Rep. Reyes pledged his support to the TSOs. Reyes has been supportive on other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee issues. He is the sponsor of H.R. 5662, a measure that would authorize the hiring of an additional 5,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers, as well as another 1,200 Agriculture Specialists and 350 new support employees.

The frontline employees, who are charged with the critical job of screening air travelers and baggage, explained to Rep. Reyes that insufficient staffing is causing numerous problems for TSOs such as split shifts, where employees must sit at the airport for up to four hours between shifts—at no pay; being penalized and sometimes terminated if they cannot work overtime; and injuries resulting from fatigue.

Reyes also heard about other elements of NTEU’s program for TSOs nationwide: improve training and recertification programs; provide TSOs collective bargaining and whistleblower rights by statute; and eliminate the agency’s Performance and Accountability Standards Systems (PASS) and move TSOs onto the General Schedule (GS), the pay system used by most federal employees.

“The pay system being used at TSA—PASS— seems to change from year to year, with pay raises based arbitrary reasoning. TSA employees deserve a system based on merit and accountability, the same system that works for other federal employees,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley.

NTEU is supporting H.R. 3212 which would provide TSOs with collective bargaining rights. NTEU also supports H.R. 985 which would them grant whistleblower rights. That bill was approved by the House and a similar measure is pending in the Senate.

“These employees deserve to enjoy the same rights as other federal employees,” said President Kelley. “Collective bargaining and whistleblower rights will help create stability in the workplace as employees becoming partners in the fight against terrorism.”

Not only does TSA have the highest workplace injury rate in the federal sector, the agency also has the highest turnover rate, which contributes to serious morale and staffing deficiencies.

Since NTEU began organizing at TSA, the agency has made some progress on three of the five points in NTEU’s program—making changes to PASS, improved whistleblower protections and revisions to the training and certification process. Much more needs to be done, President Kelley said.

“I am grateful to have the opportunity to meet with local TSOs to learn about the challenges they face in the workplace,” Rep. Reyes said. “Given the importance of TSA’s national security mission, the voices of employees deserve to be heard.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including more than 2,000 in TSA.