Special TSA Personnel Policies Targeted

Transportation Security Administration screeners would gain full bargaining rights and the same protections from whistleblower protection available to most other federal employees, under a bill (HR-1881) offered by leaders of House committees with jurisdiction over DHS. The measure represents the latest in a series of moves to grant bargaining rights to screeners, who may join unions and be represented in settings such as disciplinary hearings, but may not negotiate; screeners also have limited whistleblower protections through an agreement between TSA and MSPB, although they lack the statutory protections of most federal workers. The bill also would revoke the pay system at TSA that features pay banding and pay for performance, which federal unions also have long criticized.