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Washington, D.C.—The dates of March 9 through April 19 for the union representation election in the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have been finalized with the signing of an election agreement. This will be the largest such election in federal sector history, and an election the president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) expressed confidence about winning.

“TSA Officers understand full well they have their future in their own hands,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “I believe that when they weigh that future for themselves and their families, they will decide that NTEU offers the best path toward significantly improved working conditions and a much better work life.”

NTEU worked out the details of the agreement with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), TSA management and the other union seeking exclusive representation of this key Department of Homeland Security workforce.

It calls for voting to be conducted by the FLRA through either the use of the Internet or a toll-free phone number. In March, the FLRA will mail voter information packages to each eligible TSA voter, which will include instructions as well as a unique voter identification number and personal identification number.

The agreement further calls for TSA to notify employees of the election in the workplace; identifies which employees are eligible to vote; spells out how objections to the conduct of the election may be filed; and addresses a number of related matters.

Outstanding issues surrounding the wording of the election agreement in light of TSA Administrator’s collective bargaining determination were resolved prior to the agreement being signed.

The votes are to be tallied on the morning of April 20, at the FLRA’s headquarters in Washington. The FLRA is the body that oversees federal sector labor-management relations, including union representation elections.

This critical step in the process comes in the wake of NTEU’s success in securing collective bargaining rights for the TSA workforce. NTEU had been leading that battle for some time, working with the administration and members of Congress on the subject. TSA employees have had the right to join a union—thousands of them have joined NTEU already, and are receiving effective day-to-day workplace representation—but until this determination by TSA Administrator John S. Pistole, they were not able to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.

“Exclusive representation by NTEU is half the battle in making much-needed improvements for TSA employees,” President Kelley said, “and collective bargaining rights, along with an NTEU contract, will result in vast improvements in TSA—and not just for employees. It will lead to a better agency, and that will be a positive step for the traveling public.”

In voting for NTEU, TSA employees would join their counterparts in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), who work alongside them in airports across the country. NTEU won a representation election in 2006 to represent the entire CBP bargaining unit, defeating the same union now also seeking the votes of TSA Officers by a more than two-to-one margin.

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