Jobs with Justice coalitions in several major airport locations across the country, including: Seattle, Portland, Denver, St. Louis, Orlando, Washington DC, and Boston are actively supporting the nationwide campaign to organize 40,000 airport security screeners. This campaign, considered to be the largest union organizing effort in the U.S., includes workers at airports across the country, where union activists and allies are demonstrating support for the women and men who help keep air travel as safe as possible.
Background:
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, AFGE successfully urged the U.S. government to take charge of airport screening from a collection of private employers and make all airport screeners federal employees. But the legislation that federalized airport screeners, creating the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), also stripped the newly federalized workers of their rights. The law gave the new TSA sole discretion to decide the terms of employment of the security workforce, including their collective bargaining rights.
President George W. Bush successfully used the fear created by the terrorist attacks to move his anti-union agenda in creating the TSA. Bush administration officials claimed that union representation of workers would deny TSA the “flexibility” required to wage the war against terrorism.
AFGE strongly disagreed and chose to fight for a voice at work for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), beginning what has become an eight year organizing effort. Today, AFGE has organized 13,000 TSOs who are interested in a union election – a testament to the fighting spirit of the TSOs and AFGE.
What now and What’s next?
On February 23, 2010, AFGE filed a petition to hold a union election that would make way for AFGE to become the exclusive union representative for 40,000 TSOs nationwide. An AFGE attorney and seven TSA Local presidents delivered the petition to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), which quickly moved to assign a docket number to the case, setting in motion a true path to a union election at TSA. Despite the Bush administration’s assertion that TSOs could not unionize, AFGE is attempting to demonstrate that innovation and hard work are what it will take to deliver bargaining rights to Transportation Security Officers.
“While it would be ideal for a TSA administrator to have granted collective bargaining rights first, the two do not have to go hand-in-hand,” AFGE President John Gage said. “By settling the question of representation first, AFGE will be ready to begin negotiations as soon as the bargaining rights are established.”
“The need for these workers to have a voice at work is unquestionable,” Gage told the Feb. 22 press conference announcing the filing of the petition. “We are extremely happy to push the envelope on this issue.”
AFGE filed its first petition for an election with the FLRA in 2003, but the petition was dismissed because the FLRA did not believe it had jurisdiction over TSA. One FLRA member, Carol Pope, dissented from the majority opinion, saying that there are many things a union representative can do for workers without collective bargaining. Pope has been named FLRA chair by the Obama administration.
“AFGE believes the FLRA erred in saying there is no right to union representation without collective bargaining,” Gage said. “The right to a union is a fundamental human right that is not dependent on collective bargaining.”
But even without the election, more than 13,000 TSOs in more than 100 airports in 37 AFGE Locals nationwide have already spoken—declaring AFGE their union of choice. AFGE expects a speedy FLRA decision, so that TSOs nationwide can finally put to rest the question of union representation.
In a huge expression of support to the AFGE-TSO petition announcement, Jobs with Justice stood up with union pilots, flight attendants, machinists, airport employees, and other AFL-CIO union members who braved the winter cold and took to the streets on February 24, 2010 to join AFGE in this colossal fight for better pay and collective bargaining rights for 40,000 TSOs. The fired-up union members gathered in front of the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C, just two blocks away from the White House. To the beat of the drums, the crowd chanted “Ho, ho, hay, hay, Union Rights for TSA!” “What time is it?” AFGE President John Gage asked the crowd, which responded loud and clear – “It’s union time!” Gage said TSOs need collective bargaining rights and workplace protections now so they can focus on doing their job of protecting America and don’t have to worry about discrimination and retaliation that are rampant at TSA. Gage said it is an insult to fire fighters and police officers – first responders to the 9/11 crisis – to say that being a union member prevents any worker from doing his or her job.
Over 500 union activists and supporters (such as Jobs with Justice), including pilots, flight attendants and other AFL-CIO unions, joined AFGE and its TSO activists in calling for a union election.
Several union leaders joined two AFGE TSOs Kim Kraynak, president of Local 332, and Ricky McCoy, president of Local 777 by taking turns speaking at the rally, including AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker, and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, Association of Flights Attendants International President Patricia Friend, Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen, National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Paul Rinaldi, International Association of Machinists General Vice President Robert Roach Jr., National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando, Transport Workers Union International Executive Vice President Harry Lombardo, and Metropolitan Baltimore Council AFL-CIO President Ernie Grecco.
Jobs with Justice will continue to support AFGE as they organize TSO screeners.
