TSA Ends Collective Bargaining with its Employees

The Department of Homeland Security announced it is ending its collective bargaining agreement with Transportation Safety Administration workers who perform security screening of air travelers, ignoring its contract with the workers’ union.

TSA does not have an Administrator or Deputy Administrator since Donald Trump forced out its leadership the day he was inaugurated, so this action came from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The 47,000 TSA workers are represented by the American Federation of Government Employees. They screen about 2.5 million travelers each day. Although their wage increases have not kept up with the rest of federal workers, they received a pay rise in May 2024.

AFGE, which represents a total of 800,000 federal workers, sees this action as retaliation for its pushback against Trump’s regime in other areas of the government. The union has been heavily involved in resistance to mass firings of probationary workers and shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Congressional Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) said, “Attempting to negate their legally binding collective bargaining agreement now makes zero sense — it will only reduce morale and hamper the workforce. Since the Biden Administration provided pay increases and a new collective bargaining contract to the workforce, TSA’s attrition rates have plummeted.”

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