Posts tagged TSA
US judge blocks Trump from nixing union bargaining for TSA officers
June 4, 2025 // -A federal judge on Monday said the administration of President Donald Trump likely broke the law by stripping 50,000 transportation security officers of the ability to unionize and bargain over their working conditions. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman in Seattle, Washington, blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from canceling a union contract covering TSA officers pending the outcome of a lawsuit by four unions challenging the move.
Trump Executive Order on Public-Sector Unions Clears Latest Legal Hurdle
May 26, 2025 // These policies have been generated in response to the snowballing effect of public-sector labor unions, whose bosses have swamped government agencies with an inefficient and excess allocation of funds. Because of these union boss abuses, tax dollars have even been paying full-time salaries to union boss lobbyists working to secure themselves higher wages for doing less work. Additionally, the Institute for the American Worker has found that the time and resources spent on collective bargaining has likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars for the taxpayer. As demonstrated, banning collective bargaining with public-sector unions at national security agencies is not only a feasible plan, but one which could return millions to the American taxpayer, increase the efficiency of the government, and allow agencies to reorient themselves toward their actual purpose and mission.
Largest federal employee union, a leading Trump opponent, to lay off more than half of staff
April 28, 2025 // “It’s going to demolish us,” said Justin Youngblood, president of an AFGE chapter that represents workers at a VA hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. “That’s going to cut the legs off of AFGE and all of the locals.” He said the union's national leadership should have been better prepared to manage an expected downturn in revenue during Trump's second term.
Coalition Letter: Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act
April 16, 2025 // Prior to the recent termination of collective bargaining rights for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that nearly 200 TSA officers were working full-time on union matters despite being paid salaries by the government. In FY2019, the most recent year for which the data is available, over 550 employees at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were paid taxpayer dollars to perform union work. In another case, a union president has been allowed to occupy an executive suite that spans half of a hospital wing at the Salem VA Medical Center at taxpayer expense. Members of Congress recently introduced legislation to rectify this problem and prevent further squandering of tax dollars. The “Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallets Act of 2025,” introduced as H.R. 1210 by Congressman Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and S. 511 by Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), would give agencies the power to charge labor unions for their use of official time and their use of any agency resources such as office space and equipment.
What would a general strike in the US actually look like?
April 10, 2025 // But organized labor can plan for a general strike in the future that may not break the terms of their contracts. The UAW has called to align all union contract terminations for the same date in 2028 as a way to promote united action and perhaps even a general strike by circumventing the prohibition on striking during a union contract. That call has already promoted wider discussion of general strikes in labor and social movements. Of course, different unions striking at the same time does not guarantee a united front around issues of common concern: The first half of 1946 saw nearly 3 million workers simultaneously on strike, including auto, steel, coal, railroad and many other industries, but unions pursued separate demands, made little effort to pool their strength, and settled with little consideration of the impact on those remaining on strike.
Trump signs executive order to end collective bargaining at agencies involved with national security
March 27, 2025 // President Donald Trump moved Thursday to end collective bargaining with federal labor unions in agencies with national security missions across the federal government, citing authority granted him under a 1978 law. The order, signed without public fanfare and announced late Thursday, appears to touch most of the federal government. Affected agencies include the Departments of State, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Justice and Commerce and the part of Homeland Security responsible for border security.
Blackburn: By reining in federal labor unions, Congress can cut down on government waste | OPINION
March 27, 2025 // That’s why Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and I recently introduced the Federal Workforce Freedom Act, which would put a stop to all collective bargaining agreements between federal agencies and labor unions. Among its provisions, this legislation would prohibit federal employees from participating in labor unions for the purposes of collective bargaining, ban federal agencies from engaging in collective bargaining negotiations, and immediately terminate all collective bargaining agreements.
Union sues DHS to protect TSA screeners’ collective bargaining rights
March 18, 2025 // The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of violating the Administrative Procedure Act’s prohibition on “arbitrary and capricious” decision-making, as well as breaching their contractual obligations under the 2024 collective bargaining agreement and in so doing, violating union members’ due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. The union also brings a First Amendment claim, arguing that the Trump administration’s decision to revoke TSA screeners’ collective bargaining rights was in retaliation for the union’s other lawsuits against the executive branch, most notably their challenge of the mass firing of probationary workers across government. A federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction in that case, requiring agencies to reinstate tens of thousands of improperly terminated workers.
Homeland Security ends collective bargaining agreement with TSA workers
March 10, 2025 // In its announcement Friday, the TSA said it found that nearly 200 employees were working on union matters full-time while collecting a government salary — claims disputed by the union. Under federal law, employees serving as union representatives are entitled to devote part of their work time to union matters in a manner that is “reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest.” Trump implemented a similar reporting requirement during his first term, but it appears to have stopped during President Joe Biden’s time in office.
New documents show TSA screeners illegally unionized, pro-worker group says
February 11, 2025 // “During the Obama administration, the TSA administrator did an abrupt about-face, and TSA moved ahead with allowing screeners to unionize in violation of the law,” Dave Dorey, an attorney specializing in labor and employment law who represented AFFT, told the Washington Examiner. “Multiple administrators of TSA have stated publicly that TSA screeners are not covered by Title V, which includes significant rights for unionized workers — including the ability to file claims of unfair labor practices with an independent board and ultimately vindicate their rights in federal court. TSA screeners have none of these protections.”