TSOs Begin Voting on Union
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In one of the biggest union elections in recent years, more than 40,000 transportation security officers (TSOs) at 450 of the nation’s airports began voting Wednesday on whether to join a union. After 10 years, the TSOs finally gained the right to bargain and working people around the country are now urging the officers to vote for AFGE.
Even though the TSOs did not have collective bargaining rights, more than 12,000 TSO members are currently in 40 AFGE local unions across the country. The ballot offers three choices: AFGE, no union or an unaffiliated union. The voting ends April 19.
In a statement, Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) President Veda Shook said:
The training and expertise of transportation security officers across the country play a vital role in aviation security. As safety professionals, Flight Attendants count on TSOs every day to ensure a secure work environment and safe travels for passengers. Flight Attendants need TSOs to have a union.
Bargaining Rights Finally a Reality for TSOs
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After a nine-year battle to gain a voice in the workplace, more than 40,000 transportation security officers (TSOs) finally can become union members and bargain for a contract.
In a major victory for working people, John Pistole, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, today announced that he has decided to grant partial collective bargaining rights to the TSA workforce. AFGE President John Gage praised the decision as an important first step, saying it would enhance safety for America’s flying public. Gage adds:
Today marks the recognition of a fundamental human right for 40,000 patriotic federal employees who have been disenfranchised since the inception of the agency.
For nine years, TSOs have had to deal with issues of dangerous workplaces, discrimination, selective hiring practices, nepotism, management intimidation, and reports of lax oversight at the agency with only AFGE to stand between them and an often arbitrary and capricious management.
Now many issues will be up for negotiations, including seniority, shift biddings, transfers and awards.
Time Is Now for TSO Bargaining Rights
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Hundreds of workers braved the cold Washington, D.C., weather today to send a message to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA): Give transportation security officers (TSOs) who protect the flying public the opportunity to protect themselves with the right to bargain a union contract.
“Chanting Union Rights for TSOs,” members of dozens of unions rallied at AFL-CIO headquarters this morning. Speaking within earshot of the White House, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker said:
“It is way past time for the Obama administration to give the TSOs their right to bargain collectively and hold their election so they can sit down at the table with management, start the negotiations and change their lives for the better.”
AFGE yesterday filed a petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) for an election to allow the 41,000 TSOs to vote on union representation. In 2003, the Bush administration stripped the workers of collective bargaining rights.
AFGE Files for TSA Election; Rally for Workers’ Rights Set for Tomorrow
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The 41,000 transportation security officers (TSO) at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are a step closer to winning the collective bargaining rights they have been denied since 2003.
Today, AFGE filed a petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) for an election to allow the TSOs to vote on union representation. More than 30 percent of the TSOs nationwide support the AFGE petition. In 2003, the Bush administration stripped the workers of collective bargaining rights. Says AFGE President John Gage:
We have always known that the choice to unionize and the task of winning collective bargaining rights for the TSA workforce would be a two-part process. 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. By settling the question of representation first, AFGE will be ready to begin negotiations as soon as the bargaining rights are established.
