WASHINGTON — Adm. James Loy, under secretary of transportation for security, today signed an order precluding collective bargaining by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners after determining “mandatory collective bargaining is not compatible with the flexibility required to wage the war against terrorism.”
Adm. Loy’ s order was in response to petitions filed with the Federal Labor Relations Authority by the American Federation of Government Employees, which asked for elections to designate the union as the exclusive representative of TSA security screeners at New York LaGuardia and Baltimore-Washington International airports.
“Fighting terrorism demands a flexible workforce that can rapidly respond to threats,” said Adm. Loy, who exercised his legal authority under the 2001 Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA). “That can mean changes in work assignments and other conditions of employment that are not compatible with the duty to bargain with labor unions.” Adm. Loy said screeners enjoy many of the same protections as other federal employees, including equal employment opportunity and whistleblower protection.
In addition, several months ago, Adm. Loy sent a letter to all TSA employees stating his commitment to creation of a model workplace once the agency met critical passenger and baggage screening deadlines. This week, he re-affirmed his commitment by directing the establishment of a Model Workplace Group to design a plan involving all TSA employees — including screeners — for how best to address workplace issues.The program will be led by TSA’ s offices of civil rights, human resources, training and a new ombudsman. The group will look for ways to promote high performance and good management practices and propose strategies to prevent and resolve conflicts.
“With our employees’ help, we have put in place a new agency that is delivering world-class security and world-class customer service,” Adm. Loy said. “Now, we will work together to create a world-class workplace.”
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Congress approved and President Bush signed the ATSA into law on Nov. 19, 2001. At the end of January 2002, the TSA had 13 employees. It now has about 64,000, including some 56,000 screeners whose salaries range from $23,600 to $35,400 a year, plus locality