Trump administration declares TSA screener union contract void
By Nick Niedzwiadek and Oriana Pawlyk, Politico, March 7, 2025
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced that it plans to terminate the collective bargaining agreement that covers frontline workers at the Transportation Security Administration — a move likely to spark a court battle.
In a statement, DHS said its decision to invalidate a 2024 collective bargaining agreement that covers about 45,000 people — including its baggage screeners — “removes bureaucratic hurdles that will strengthen workforce agility, enhance productivity and resiliency, while also jumpstarting innovation.” The agency claimed that TSA employees are exploiting the current system by abusing sick leave policies, in turn overburdening other screeners who have to pick up extra shifts, among other tasks.
DHS said these employees will adhere to a new system based on “performance, not longevity or union membership.”
Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the agency will immediately cease using its payroll system for collecting union dues. In addition, McLaughlin said DHS will “conduct an orderly termination of any functions, processes, or obligations arising out of” the agreement.
The American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing baggage screeners at TSA, said the action flagrantly disregards workers’ rights and in a statement called it “clearly retaliatory” for the union’s lawsuits against the Trump administration over its crackdown on federal employees.
“They gave as a justification a completely fabricated claim about union officials — making clear this action has nothing to do with efficiency, safety, or homeland security,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement. “This is merely a pretext for attacking the rights of regular working Americans across the country because they happen to belong to a union.”
An AFGE spokesperson said the union is “weighing our options and evaluating our legal strategy” as it processes DHS’ action.
In an email sent to TSA staffers on Friday, obtained by POLITICO, TSA chief of staff Adam Stahl warned that AFGE is “no longer the exclusive representative of any personnel carrying out screening functions.” The email noted the halt in processing union dues, which Stahl said totals close to $15 million annually.
In 2022, TSA rolled out a new compensation and bargaining system for its employees, an act that put them level with other federal employees in terms of raises and other benefits.
Trump administration declares TSA screener union contract void
