Sara Nelson, President of the AFA, seen here at a 2024 BLET Regional Meeting. She had some harsh words about the attempt to eliminate collective bargaining rights for TSA workers.
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The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) filed a lawsuit on March 13 to block the Trump administration from ending collective bargaining for 47,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers across the country.
AFGE, the largest federal employee union, filed the lawsuit in federal court after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stripped TSA officers of their union rights and canceled a bargaining agreement covering TSA officers as retaliation against the union for challenging other Trump administration anti-worker initiatives.
Two unions that represent other airline workers, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), joined AFGE in the lawsuit.
Sara Nelson, President of the AFA, said: “Eliminating collective bargaining rights for tens of thousands of TSA officers is an egregious attack on workers’ rights that puts us all at risk.” BLET members may remember that Nelson spoke at the union’s Eastern Regional Meeting in Washington, D.C. last summer.
TSA, while more commonly linked to keeping commercial aviation secure, also plays a critical role in making sure that the physical safety and cybersecurity of railroads meets high standards.