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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the union representing key frontline homeland security employees today called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make good on its word and issue guidance to permit those workers to wear masks helping protect them from contracting swine flu in the performance of their duties.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents the entire 22,000-employee CBP workforce and thousands of airport passenger screeners in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), called on DHS to issue immediate guidance allowing DHS employees on the frontlines to wear masks at their discretion.

“Local managers are refusing to allow employees to wear protective gear and that is unnecessarily putting them at risk,” said Kelley. “Employees want, need—and deserve—the immediate right to protect their health, if they choose.”

Further, President Kelley said, NTEU has been receiving reports from its chapters at ports of entry around the country that employees are being told by local managers they cannot wear the masks and employees who have donned masks have been ordered by some supervisors to remove them.

In discussions with CBP and DHS earlier this week, NTEU pressed for CBP and TSA employees to have the right to wear masks and gloves, and to have frequent breaks so they may wash their hands. NTEU also made the point that some employees may be particularly at risk because of certain health condition that make them susceptible to viruses.

To date, employees have been told to follow guidance issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that they should maintain a distance of at least six feet between themselves and someone who appears to be ill. However, NTEU argued that this advice is impractical for CBP Officers and TSA employees performing a variety of their routine work tasks. TSOs are involved in ‘wanding’ passengers, engaging in pat-down searches or checking boarding passes. Likewise, CBP Officers frequently work in close contact with travelers, checking documents and baggage. Those officers, in fact, are constantly clearing airport, vehicle and pedestrian traffic from Mexico.

Moreover, CDC and other experts agree that travelers can be contagious with the illness without showing symptoms.

“If employees want to wear masks, they should be allowed to,” said Kelley. “These employees are in high risk situations and should be allowed to protect themselves.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.