A federal judge has blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending a collective bargaining agreement with the Transportation Security Administration, temporarily securing union privileges for 47,000 TSA employees.
The preliminary injunction was issued Monday by Seattle-based U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman, an appointee of former president Bill Clinton.
In February, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had stripped collective bargaining powers from unionized Transportation Security Officers, who are responsible for screening passengers, baggage, and cargo at airports and other transportation places.
Noem had argued that the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents TSO, had failed to protect members’ actual interests, as well as hindered productivity and merit-based performance.
But Pechman agreed with AFGE, which sued Noem over the decision, that the DHS’ action likely constituted “impermissible retaliation against [AFGE’s] for its unwillingness to acquiesce to the Trump Administration’s assault on federal workers.”
AFGE praised the ruling Tuesday, calling it “a victory for federal workers and the rule of law.”
“The preliminary injunction underscores the unconstitutional nature of DHS’s attack on TSA officers’ first amendment rights,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said. “[W]e will not back down from defending our members’ rights against unlawful union busting.”
According to the DHS, TSA has nearly 200 officers working full-time solely on union matters, with salaries funded by taxpayer dollars. At the same time, most airports are already short on screening officers with 374 out of 432 airports having fewer than 200 TSO to perform screening functions.
DHS also claimed that at 86% of federalized airports, TSA has more employees doing full-time union work than performing screening functions, at taxpayer expense.
Some Republican lawmakers have proposed banning public sector labor unions entirely, as The Center Square reported, potentially impacting 25% of the federal employee workforce.
