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Burlington, Vt.—Transportation Security Administration Officers (TSOs) at Vermont’s signature airport have joined forces with the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)—the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers. The establishment of an NTEU chapter at Burlington International Airport (BTV) brings effective workplace representation to local frontline homeland security employees.

NTEU already represents hundreds of federal employees in Vermont with local chapters at agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Yesterday, TSOs at NTEU Chapter 332 (TSA Vermont) joined their ranks.

“NTEU has been responding to the concerns of TSA Officers nationwide who have no voice in their workplace, but who remain dedicated to their agency’s mission,” NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said. “NTEU has been actively working to improve the work lives of tens of thousands of TSOs at dozens of airports from Maine to California. Now, officers here in Vermont will start to see similar improvements.”

A critical factor in the low morale that has plagued TSA since its creation in 2001 is the lack of collective bargaining rights for TSOs. “Collective bargaining at TSA will allow officers to have a say in their working conditions,” President Kelley said. “The agency’s workforce continues to struggle under arbitrary rules and regulations, a performance system that does not measure their work and a training program that is ill-funded.”

The current TSA pay system is another key factor impacting the agency’s low morale, Kelley added, as officers believe it does not accurately reflect the value of the work they do and is subject to management whims.

NTEU has taken its concerns to Congress, where it helped draft the language of H.R. 1881, a pending measure in the U.S. House of Representatives that would provide TSOs with full collective bargaining rights by statute. Part of a dual approach to the issue, the union also has asked the Obama administration to unilaterally grant officers full civil service protections.

Finally, NTEU anticipates the confirmation of Robert A. Harding to be the next TSA Administrator. Announced last week by President Obama, NTEU looks forward to prompt action by the U.S. Senate to review and act on Harding’s nomination. President Kelley said the White House announcement is a key step toward bringing needed leadership to an agency still looking to reach its full potential. “TSA needs strong, competent leadership that can address important workplace issues and can positively impact morale and attrition rates,” Kelley said.

Not only are fair pay and civil service protections at TSA priority issues for NTEU, they also are key components of NTEU’s comprehensive five-point plan for the TSA workforce—a concrete set of goals that will address concerns of employees nationwide. The plan also includes full whistleblower protections by statute; a fair shift-scheduling system and adequate staffing; and revisions to the current TSA training and recertification system.

Chapter 332 joins an ever-growing NTEU network of two dozen TSA chapters at more than 40 airports across the country, including new chapters in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

All NTEU TSA chapters operate with local staff attorneys and labor relations experts to represent officers on a variety of critical workplace issues, such disciplinary actions and leave issues.

NTEU represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments and is aggressively organizing thousands of TSOs at airports nationwide. TSA is a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, where NTEU already is the exclusive representative for CBP’s 24,000-employee bargaining unit.