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Washington, D.C.— The leader of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) today welcomed approval by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee of Erroll G. Southers as the next administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley called for a prompt vote by the full Senate on the nomination.

Upon confirmation, President Kelley said she expects the union to have a productive working relationship with Southers on a variety of critical TSA issues.

“Once he is in office, I look forward to closely working with him to begin addressing the wide array of issues that continue to hamper this vital homeland security agency,” Kelley said. “We can provide TSA employees with fair and transparent workplace policies, give them a voice in their work lives, improve overall morale and secure the safety of our airports and traveling public.”

In an effort to boost transparency and openness between TSA employees and management, President Kelley and NTEU TSA leaders from airports nationwide have met in recent months with TSA Acting Administrator Gale D. Rossides and other senior leaders to discuss a broad range of issues impacting the workforce.

At the initial meeting in July, NTEU presented a white paper entitled, “Building a Strong and Effective TSA Workforce,” outlining critical issues facing the TSA workforce such as the pay system, testing and certification, leave and attendance, disciplinary actions, shifts and schedules and the agency grievance procedure. The white paper also outlined specific solutions for TSA, including moving employees onto the General Schedule and adopting uniform leave policies to be followed at airports nationwide.

“These ongoing meetings are an opportunity to engage in frank discussions about TSA workforce issues but by no means do they take the place of full collective bargaining rights,” President Kelley said.

Full civil service protections for TSA employees are a key component of NTEU’s comprehensive five-point plan for the agency’s workforce—a concrete set of goals that will address concerns of employees nationwide. The plan also calls for fair pay; full whistleblower protections by statute; a fair shift-scheduling system and adequate staffing; and revisions to the current TSA training and recertification system.

“Collective bargaining will help TSA become a world-class airport security agency by allowing its employees to focus on airport safety,” she said. “There is no reason for TSA employees to be denied the same rights as other federal employees.”

NTEU is in the midst of an aggressive organizing campaign within TSA and already represents thousands of agency employees at airports nationwide, including its most recent chapter representing TSA employees at Washington National Airport. NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.