The Transportation Security Administration announced last week that it has ratified a collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 44,000 of the agency’s employees.
The agreement will become effective next month and will remain in effect for three years.
"The completion of today’s agreement between TSA and AFGE is a milestone in our relationship with our workforce and AFGE," TSA Administrator John Pistole said in a statement. "Together, we will continue to secure our nation's transportation systems and keep the traveling public safe."
According to the AFGE, the agreement, which was approved by a vote of 17,326, to 1,774, will provide screeners with:
- Improved uniforms, as well as uniform variations that account for weather and temperature conditions;
- A greater degree of consistency and fairness on issues like annual leave bidding and shift trades;
- And, a stable and consistent process for shift bidding and movement between full- and part-time.
"AFGE is proud that TSA workers finally have a union contract that will improve their working lives and bring stability to the workforce," said AFGE National President J. David Cox. "This agreement will mean better working conditions, fair evaluation practices and safer workplaces, and in doing so, it will improve morale. This is important because low morale leads to unsafe levels of attrition in an agency where a stable, professional workforce of career employees is vital to its national security mission."
