The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that it will terminate its labor agreement covering airport baggage screeners, despite a federal judge blocking the agency’s earlier effort this year.
The move follows TSA’s decision to discard its 2024 collective bargaining agreement next month. The contract, signed last year and originally scheduled to run until 2031, is now being revoked. According to the agency, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that allowing collective bargaining and exclusive representation for screening officers undermines efficient use of taxpayer funds and limits flexibility required to protect air travelers. TSA also confirmed it will no longer deduct union dues from screeners’ paychecks through its payroll system.
The American Federation of Government Employees denounced the decision, vowing to sue. AFGE National President Everett Kelley criticized the action in a statement: “Merely 30 days ago, Secretary Noem celebrated TSA officers for their dedication during the longest government shutdown in history. Today, she’s announcing a lump of coal right on time for the holidays: that she’s stripping those same dedicated officers of their union rights.”
Kelley added: “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.”
The Department of Homeland Security initially announced in March it would end the 2024 contract, but AFGE filed suit arguing the action constituted retaliation against the union’s other legal challenges against the Trump administration. DHS stated the change aimed to remove “bureaucratic hurdles that will strengthen workforce agility, enhance productivity and resiliency, while also jumpstarting innovation.” A DHS statement noted more TSA employees were engaged in union activities than passenger screening operations. The agency confirmed no workers would be terminated as a result of the contract changes.
Although litigation remains pending, a federal judge halted DHS and TSA from implementing the proposed rollback in June, preventing immediate action while the legal challenge continues.
