SOURCE. www.akaka.senate.gov
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka, chairman of the federal workforce subcommittee, spoke out last night against an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization bill which would deny Transportation Security Officers the right to collectively bargain over workplace conditions similar to other employees at the Department of Homeland Security.
Today, the Obama Administration announced that Transportation Security Officers will be provided with limited collective bargaining rights, which will provide them with a greater voice in the workplace and will allow TSA to more effectively carry out its mission.
Mr. President, I rise today to strongly oppose Senator Wicker’s amendment to prevent Transportation Security Administration employees from being able to collectively bargain.
There is no need for the Senate to use valuable time considering this issue right now. Congress gave the Administrator of TSA the authority to determine if and how collective bargaining should take place in the Air Transportation Security Act, which established TSA in the wake of the attacks of September 11. Administrator Pistole, who has a strong national security background, is evaluating this issue in detail, and we should let him complete his review.
Although I believe Administrator Pistole should be given time to make the decision on granting collective bargaining rights to TSA employees, I want to address the arguments some have made in opposing TSA workers’ rights.
I believe giving TSA employees a greater voice in their work place would be good for security. TSA suffers from low morale, high attrition, and high injury rates. National security is jeopardized when agencies charged with protecting our safety continually lose trained and talented employees due to workplace injuries and a lack of employee protections.
Moreover, the vast majority of Federal employees have collective bargaining rights. This includes other employees of the Department of Homeland Security performing similar security screening functions, such as Border Patrol Agents, Federal Protective Service Officers, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers.
In addition, there currently are some private airport screeners with collective bargaining rights. Airport security is handled by contract screeners in a handful of airports, including some large ones. These contract employees have full collective bargaining rights. Ironically, some have recently been arguing for contracting security at more airports, saying the security is better there. To be clear, I strongly support federalized airport security, but if there are any benefits where security is contracted, perhaps it is because the screeners are unionized, not because they are privatized.
Proponents of collective bargaining restrictions say they are necessary so that TSA has the flexibility to respond to emergencies. That is simply not true. Under Federal law, agencies are provided the authority to take any actions they deem necessary to carry out their missions during an emergency. Granting collective bargaining rights would not in any way hinder TSA’s flexibility to transfer employees in the event of a national emergency. Moreover, under civil service laws, TSA employees, like other federal employees, would be prohibited from striking if they are granted collective bargaining rights.
We all remember the heroic first responders who rushed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. I vividly recall the Capitol Police Officers working frantically to protect our safety when it appeared the fourth plane could strike the Capitol. These were unionized workers. Like the heroes of 9/11, the brave men and women of TSA have dedicated themselves to protecting our security. There is absolutely no basis for the argument that TSA employees would invoke union contract restrictions rather than rise to the occasion in any emergency.
Mr. President, I urge all Senators to protect TSA employees’ opportunity to have a voice in their workforce by opposing the Wicker amendment.