Home Media Center News Releases

New York—Finding the best way to address the myriad of workplace issues now facing Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees was the topic of an important meeting yesterday between Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and local TSA Officers (TSOs) at LaGuardia Airport.

Rep. Lowey, a longtime champion of rights for TSOs and a sponsor of a pending House bill to provide collective bargaining rights to TSOs nationwide, met with several members of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 311 (NTEU LaGuardia), which represents hundreds of TSOs at one of New York’s largest airports. The Monday visit was the lawmaker’s second to LaGuardia in recent months to meet with NTEU-represented TSOs.

“TSA employees are responsible for the safety of the traveling public and should work in an environment that respects their voice and contributions,” said NTEU National President Colleen M. Kelley. “Instead these employees lack critical civil service protections and a serious voice in the workplace. NTEU is committed to working with Rep. Lowey to make much-needed workplace improvements that will immediately benefit all U.S. airport travelers, including the more than 23 million fliers who use LaGuardia Airport each year.”

NTEU has fought for the rights of TSA employees since the agency’s creation. Although Congress gave the TSA Administrator the authority to decide whether TSA employees would be granted collective bargaining rights, the previous administration denied them those rights.

Last month, Rep. Lowey, together with House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), introduced H.R. 1881, the Transportation Security Workforce Enhancement Act of 2009 that would provide collective bargaining rights to employees and end the agency’s failed personnel system, the Performance and Accountability Standards System (PASS). The bill also would move TSA employees onto the General Schedule (GS) personnel system, a credible and transparent system which covers most federal employees.

President Kelley praised Rep. Lowey for her efforts to H.R.1881 and for listening to the workplace concerns of everyday TSOs. “Lowey’s bill opens the door to a huge opportunity to make TSA the best-run airport security agency in the world,” Kelley said. “Given the crucial position of TSA employees in protecting our nation’s airports and securing the safety of the traveling public, putting them onto a true merit pay system and giving them a seat at the table will serve our country well.”

NTEU has a well-established record of delivering workplace rights and benefits to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBPOs), who work alongside TSOs in airports across the country, including at LaGuardia Airport. NTEU is the exclusive representative of the 21,000-employee CBP unit.

Thanks to NTEU, CBPOs are able to work a straight eight-hour day; are paid on the General Schedule (GS) like the majority of federal employees; and have access to a pay differential if they speak a foreign language for their job. Last year, NTEU won CBPOs an enhanced law enforcement officer retirement benefit. None of these benefits are currently available to TSOs. TSA employees see the stability of the CBP workplace and the respect the Officers are accorded and want NTEU’s help in securing the same type of workplace environment.

“NTEU is uniquely qualified to represent TSA employees given its long history of representing other federal employees who work in our nation’s airports and protect our security,” President Kelley said. “Securing full collective bargaining rights for TSOs and giving these dedicated employees a powerful voice in their everyday work lives is our top priority.”

Securing full civil service protections for TSOs is a key component of the NTEU’s comprehensive five-point plan for the TSA workforce—a concrete set of goals that will ensure stability of the agency nationwide. The plan calls for collective bargaining rights and an end to PASS, along with full whistleblower protections by statute; a fair shift-scheduling system and adequate staffing; and revisions to the current TSA training and recertification system.

In addition to LaGuardia, NTEU represents hundreds of TSOs at JFK International Airport and thousands more nationwide. The union also is actively organizing at Newark Liberty International Airport and in the state’s capital city at Albany International Airport.

The largest independent federal employees union, NTEU represents some 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.