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Washington, D.C.—As the number of swine flu cases in the United States continues to rise and the World Health Organization (WHO) announces that the current H1N1 outbreak is now a global pandemic, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) will detail important ongoing preparedness issues facing the frontline workforce of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at a key Senate subcommittee hearing next week.

Entitled, “Protecting Our Employees: Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and the Federal Workforce,” the hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management is scheduled at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 342. The subcommittee is chaired by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii).

At the hearing, NTEU will testify about the continuing lack of consistent guidance being given to frontline U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees by agency leadership about their rights to wear respiratory masks to guard against swine flu while on the job.

“Since the swine flu outbreak first captured the world’s attention more than seven weeks ago, numerous CBP and TSA employees have reported a lack of agency direction regarding their use of protective equipment, as well as an emphasis on public relations over personal safety,” NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said. “With the international medical community expecting another possible swine flu outbreak in the coming months, issues surrounding the preparedness of our nation’s frontline homeland security personnel must be addressed before another crisis occurs.”

NTEU expressed thanks to Sen. Akaka for scheduling the hearing. In a letter inviting NTEU to testify, Sen. Akaka noted the confusing guidance offered by agencies in the past weeks. “During the recent outbreak, federal employees and workforce groups reported a lack of clear guidance and direction to employees on the use of personal protective equipment as well as inadequate communication on the medical science behind the guidance, and overall concerns about the protection of the federal workforce,” the letter read.

Since the start of the H1N1 outbreak, President Kelley has led in the effort to secure the right of frontline homeland security workers to voluntarily wear personal protective equipment while performing their duties. Last month NTEU took its message of agency preparedness to a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and President Kelley provided that body with affidavits from DHS employees stating they were prevented by their managers from wearing a protective mask or were made to remove a mask they had decided on their own to wear in the best interest of their health and that of their families. “Some of the affidavits are disturbingly threatening, and some include comments indicating the reason for the prohibition was fear of alarming the public,” Kelley said.

Kelley’s testimony resulted in Subcommittee Chairman Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) inserting language into the TSA Authorization bill to permit TSA employees voluntarily use of protective equipment during a public health emergency. That legislation was approved by the House last week.

“While last week’s action is a positive step for TSA employees, there is more that needs to be done,” Kelley said. “This guidance should be extended to all DHS employees, including those at CBP.” Rep. Lynch could only offer the TSA-related amendment, since the authorization bill covers only TSA.

NTEU has been critical of DHS’s failure to articulate a clear policy on the rights of employees during this current health scare. Earlier this month, President Kelley sent a letter to DHS Under Secretary Elaine Duke emphasizing frustration with the agency’s slow response and asking for specific information about the agency’s policy with respect to the voluntary wearing of respirators by employees who want to limit their risk of H1N1 infection. “To say it is disappointing that DHS has failed to provide responsive answers is to significantly understate its actions,” President Kelley said.

The union leader said the hardworking employees who have been denied the right to protect themselves deserve better. “They deserve to know what the policies are, they deserve to know who is responsible for making those policies and they deserve to know the reasons for the policies,” Kelley added.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments, including the entire 24,000-employee CBP workforce and thousands of TSA Officers at several major airports across the country.