TSA Workers Ratify Union Contract

Last week TSA (Transportation Security Administration) screeners voted to ratify a collective bargaining agreement, creating America’s newest union.  According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, the vote was a landslide; 17,326 to 1,774 members voted to ratify the agreement. 

According the TSA press release, the agreement will begin December 9 and remain in effect for three years. 

A TSA decision memorandum cited poor employee, “morale and engagement” as reasons for pursuing unionization, stating, “employee engagement and security are interrelated, and therefore directly affect our capacity to effectively carry out our mission.” 

Following the news of the agreement, Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Mica, released a scathing press release. “While we must respect employee rights to be represented by organized labor, TSA has failed to represent the flying public and has missed the mark on improving procedures and protocols while focusing on tie tacks and tattoos,” Mica said. The statement continued, “The Congressional analysis of the TSA Labor agreeement… concludes that is provides few real benefits to TSA employees and only further diverts focus from TSA’s core functions of analyzing intelligence and ensuring the security of air travelers.” Rep. Mica, credited with creating the TSA, called for privatization of the agency in September.

Rep. Blackburn of Tennessee also criticized unionization.  “The TSA is putting the safety and security of American passengers at risk by allowing federal unions to claim a greater stake in dictating our national security,” she said before criticizing the annual uniform allowance which was doubled in the agreement. As the Washington Examiner pointed out, the new TSA uniform allowance is more than the one time uniform allowance of a Marine Lieutenant. 

The TSA has failed to expose any major security threat in the last ten years.  And rather than working to install procedures that support public interests while furthing security measures, TSA is now synonymous with molestation, theft, waste of millions in taxpayer dollars and other anti-liberty absurdities. It’s hard to imagine how a scandal-ridden government agencies unionization would alleviate their ill-gotten, but justified reputation much less enhance national security.  I mean really, what could go wrong?