Ask Sen. Collins to Support Collective Bargaining Rights for TSA Workers

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have been struggling for many years with low wages and a lack of workplace protections. Now they need our help! There is a currently a bill before the US Senate that will put these airport security screeners on the same pay scale as other federal workers and provide them with much needed workplace protections. 

“We play a critical role in national security and all we’re asking for are the same union protections other federal law enforcement officials enjoy,” said William Reiley, of Alfred, Maine, and Regional Vice President of AFGE Local 2617, which represents TSA officers in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire.

Reps. Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree have co-sponsored the measure in the US House and Senator Angus King has co-sponsored the Senate version, but Senator Susan Collins remains uncommitted. The Senate version of the bill, S. 1856, currently has 41 co-sponsors, but won’t be brought to a vote until it receives enough co-sponsors to pass.

PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM TO SEND A LETTER TO SEN. COLLINS ASKING HER TO SUPPORT THIS IMPORTANT WORKERS' RIGHTS LEGISLATION!

When the TSA was created in the aftermath of 2001 terrorist attacks, the Bush administration denied them the same representational rights, pay, and benefits as other federal employees. It took many years and a number of legal victories for TSA workers to win the right to even have a union.

Because their pay is determined by the TSA administrator, not federal law, Transportation Security Officers do not receive longevity pay or step increases. And because TSA employees do not have full union rights and protections, TSA is allowed to determine what matters are subject to collective bargaining and set its own rules for handling employee grievances. 

Last spring the Biden administration provided a 10% retention bonus to TSA employees and has signaled that it will grant them the same collective bargaining rights as other federal employees, but this can only be done administratively and can easily be repealed in the next presidential administration. Local 2617 members say they need a law to guarantee them these rights.

TSA’s second-class status regarding pay, workplace rights, and equal protections means the agency has difficulty recruiting and retaining employees. Nearly the entire agency was replaced due to attrition between 2007 and 2018, as more than 45,500 TSOs resigned. In 2017 alone, one in five new hires quit the agency within the first six months. Reiley said since the TSA was created 20 years ago, over 800 employees have come and gone in Maine alone. 

Meanwhile, TSA officers continue to perform an often thankless job as they screen weary travelers. During the federal shut down three years ago, they went without three paychecks. Working through the pandemic has been especially challenging.

“We get assaulted at the check point occasionally. People spit at us and say not-so-nice words because we’re taking away their shampoo or something,” said Reiley. “I just want to say, 'I’m just doing my job. I don’t make the rules, I just follow them. Our job is just to get you and your loved ones safely from here to your destination.'”