Washington, DC – Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), yesterday introduced an amendment that would prohibit Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel from forming a union, citing security concerns.

“Nearly ten years after September 11, 2001, we must remain mindful of the active threats to our nation,” said Wicker.  “Safeguarding America’s transportation requires both vigilance and flexibility.  Burdensome and costly union demands could limit the ability of those responsible for security at some of the most high-risk targets to do their job.  The FBI, the CIA, and the Secret Service do not have collective bargaining rights for good reason.”

Wicker’s amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill (S.223) would exclude more than 40,000 TSA personnel from collective bargaining.  The 2001 law that created TSA gives the administrator authority to decide whether or not unionizing is allowed.  The Bush-era administrator issued a memorandum stating that unions could not collectively bargain on behalf of TSA employees. 

The Obama Administration has allowed collective bargaining to move forward.  On November 12, 2010, the Federal Labor Relations Authority decided that TSA employees will be allowed to vote on union representation.  Balloting is tentatively scheduled for March 9 through April 19, 2011. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 14.7 million workers were a member of a union in 2010.  Of these, 7.6 million work in government jobs while 7.1 million work in the private sector.

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