Congressional approval last night of H.R. 1 putting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees on the same footing as other federal employees was welcomed by NTEU.H.R. 1 is a broad package of legislation implementing many recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and includes language requiring that TSA employees have the same employment rights, including collective bargaining, as other federal employees. The legislation terminates the current personnel system and gives the DHS Secretary the option of moving TSA employees to one of the personnel management systems currently in place for other federal employees.
The bill contains a number of other provisions, including language requiring screening of all cargo coming into the United States. This provision could prove beneficial in securing additional personnel for Customs and Border Protection
CBP employees have full collective bargaining rights in the first place thanks to NTEU’s successful efforts in federal court in defeating regulations advanced by DHS and the Office of Personnel Management that would have severely restricted not only collective bargaining rights, but their due process and appeal rights as well.
