The new Obama administration is inching towards allowing union representation for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Union leaders from two competing organizations are making overtures to TSA bigwigs. As part of our national security team, should TSA be unionized?
The outcome will affect your travel experience. There may be a boost in employee morale, pay and perks. However, there may be more rules and regulations and limitations for passengers, though that is hard to believe. In either case — unionization or the status-quo — the TSA burden on budgets will keep growing. the only question is, “How fast?”
Both the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) are scheduled to meet with TSA officials. Both unions have worked in recent years to organize employees, though TSA workers do not have the right to bargain with the agency.
Initial administrator of TSA, Kip Hawley, decided that unionization did mesh well with the quasi-military nature of TSA. Employees needed to be flexible and provide the ability to react to security issues immediately. Having a set of union rules for TSA seemed about as logical as having collective bargaining for the U.S. military.
As a military brat, I have a hard time seeing a role for a union, however, the writing on the wall is clear. Unions are coming sometime within the first term of Obama’s administration.
Currently the unions are focused on scheduling changes, disciplinary proceedings, working conditions, pay-for-performance, testing systems and employee feedback. But the crux of the issue will ultimately be collective bargaining.
The final word on the extent of union influence is certainly not final. The government knows that it must maintain some additional controls. These workers are not simply performing administrative tasks.
We’ll keep you informed as the procedure moves through the bureaucracy. Do you have any thoughts on whether TSA should be unionized?
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
