DHS May Grant Screeners Bargaining Rights

DHS is conducting an internal review to determine if the department has the authority to grant collective bargaining rights to Transportation Security Administration screeners without legislative action, secretary Janet Napolitano said at a recent hearing. Screeners may join unions and unions may represent them in settings such as disciplinary appeals, but the unions do not have rights to negotiate over workplace conditions. The Bush administration blocked attempts by congressional Democrats to impose bargaining rights legislatively, but the Obama campaign endorsed granting those rights. The two largest federal unions, AFGE and NTEU, have been organizing units within TSA in the hopes of gaining rights to bargain on their behalf. In the long run the unions may be headed for the same kind of showdown that occurred after the merger of agencies that created the DHS Customs and Border Protection agency, resulting in a representational vote that NTEU won.