In a memo that that one TSA employee said sounded like “a teenage blogger writing about someone they don’t like,” the Department of Homeland Security announced March 7 that it was cancelling the union contract for 47,000 workers at the Transportation Security Administration. The American Federation of Government Employees signed its contract with TSA in May 2024, and it wasn’t set to expire until 2031. DHS also stopped deducting union dues, and ordered all union officers to immediately return to their TSO duties. Workers voted in the union in 2011.
Such a stupid move. The whole point of having a formal union agreement is that it prevents the TSA workers from using their real power. Their real power is if they go on strike, the entire air transportation system shuts down. In exchange for agreeing not to strike, the government agrees to negotiate with the union. We’ve never had to deal with a TSA strike shutting down air travel. Without the recognized union? This is no longer the case.