Bill Seeks to Give Full Collective Bargaining Rights to TSA Officers

Legislation has recently been reintroduced to give TSA officers full collective bargaining rights.

Legislation has been recently reintroduced to give full collective bargaining rights to Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) that are currently afforded to other Federal workers under Title 5 of the U.S. Code.

The Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act of 2019 (H.R. 1140), would give TSOs full collective bargaining rights, opportunities to effectively raise issues in dispute to an independent third party, and subjection to the General Services wage system. It is sponsored by Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS). It was last introduced in the previous session of Congress but failed to advance.

Thompson cited the recent partial government shutdown as evidence of why he thinks the legislation is necessary. In a statement, he said, “This last Trump Shutdown put on sharp display the incredible amount of stress our TSOs are under. It’s time to bring TSA’s personnel and labor management systems in line with the rest of the federal government under Title 5. By improving TSO workforce protections, we will be improving frontline workforce morale and improving our national security.”

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Ian Smith is one of the co-founders of FedSmith.com. He has over 20 years of combined experience in media and government services, having worked at two government contracting firms and an online news and web development company prior to his current role at FedSmith.