Expanded TSA Bargaining Rights Possible

The two largest federal unions, AFGE and NTEU, are continuing to urge the Transportation Security Administration to grant bargaining rights to screeners as an administrative action. Each recently met with TSA leadership, which is considering the matter but has not made a commitment. The unions seem headed for a showdown if bargaining rights are granted, since each has been organizing locals in TSA for years, hoping to gain representation rights to a unit of potentially more than 40,000 employees. The unions also are continuing to urge Congress to write a bargaining guarantee into law. Administrative action likely would be quicker but getting a provision written into law would prevent a future White House from revoking rights as easily. Meanwhile, unions have asked FLRA to conduct a representation election even in the absence of those rights. Currently, unions may represent TSA employees in settings such as disciplinary actions but cannot bargain over the types of topics that are generally negotiable where unions exist.