The Federal Labor Relations Authority has requested workforce data from TSA to inform its decision on whether to allow an election to go forward to decide exclusive union representation, despite the absence of collective bargaining rights for screeners.
The American Federation of Government Employees filed a petition with the FLRA, arguing settling the question of representation would allow the winner to be better prepared to bargain immediately if and when collective bargaining rights are granted – something unions expect to occur under the current political leadership.
The National Treasury Employees Union, which defeated AFGE in an election to be the sole representative of the Customs and Border Protection workforce, said that it would be ready to compete.
According to AFGE, which is looking to get a jump on NTEU in the competition for what could prove to be a lucrative and influential piece of the homeland security workforce, the FLRA has requested from TSA a list of employees who would be excluded from the bargaining unit, including supervisors and TSA headquarters staff, and it asked for the agency’s position on the petition and its “appropriateness.”