US invalidates union contract covering 47,000 TSA officers, AFGE vows to challenge

AFGE plans lawsuit against decision New labor framework starts January 11 House votes to restore federal workers’ rights By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday terminated the collective bargaining agreement covering 47,000 Transportation Security Administration officers, the department said in a statement. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents the airport screening officers, said it would file a lawsuit to challenge the decision. The Department of Homeland Security said it would implement the new labor framework on January 11 and would no longer be collecting union dues from TSA officers’ paychecks. In June, a U.S. judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking Noem’s March 7 attempt to end the collective bargaining agreement. On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to restore collective bargaining rights to about 1 million unionized federal employees, including TSA, seeking to repeal an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in March. Lawmakers said Trump’s action sought to repeal collective bargaining rights of 67% of federal workers. Federal workers face significant limitations in labor rights and are prohibited from bargaining over wages, benefits, or job classifications and are barred from striking. “Secretary Noem’s decision to rip up the union contract for 47,000 TSA officers is an illegal act of retaliatory union-busting that should cause concern for every person who steps foot in an airport,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement. TSA said on Friday the new labor framework “will return the agency back into a security-focused framework that prioritizes workforce readiness, resource allocation and mission focus with an effective stewardship of taxpayer dollars.” Trump on January 20 forced out TSA administrator David Pekoske, whom he had named to the job in 2017 and was reappointed by former President Joe Biden. Trump has not yet named a candidate to replace Pekoske. The TSA reached a new seven-year labor deal in May 2024 with AFGE after nearly a year of negotiations. The Biden administration expanded the scope of bargaining permitted in 2022 with TSA workers. Workers got enhanced shift trade options, increased allowance for uniforms and the addition of parental bereavement leave and weather and safety leave as part of the labor deal.