The National Treasury Employees Union, in support of an effort to check the growth of pay for performance systems throughout government has cited TSA’s "performance accountability and standards system" as a particular egregious example.
"PASS is an unfair and subjective system in which employees face constantly-changing expectations," said NTEU president Colleen Kelley. "The wide discretion given to managers and the lack of credible standards are key reasons for low employee morale at TSA and sky-high attrition rates."
NTEU is trying to rally support for expanding collective bargaining for TSA employees, something recently introduced legislation in the House would do. AFGE, which like NTEU is working to organize units in TSA in the hopes of eventually gaining exclusive recognition rights, has similar views about the program.
That bill, which is proposed as an amendment to the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, would also move more than 42,000 screeners and over 50,000 total TSA employees under the general schedule.
Reps. Nita Lowey, D-NY, Homeland Security Committee chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and the chair of the transportation security subcommittee, Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, said their bill would apply workforce rules to TSA that are similar to those in place at FEMA, Customs and Border Patrol, and other federal security agencies.