FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. President, this amendment deals with the notion of collective bargaining by TSA employees. The Transportation Security Administration was formed approximately 10 years ago by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, Public Law 107-71. Since that time, Transportation Security Administration employees have fared very well. They are a familiar sight in our airports. They are familiar to any of us who fly and who frequent the airports of the United States. It is a good job, and they are well taken care of.

During that 10-year period, TSA employees have not been allowed to collectively bargain. There is a reason for that. First of all, under that act which I referenced, as a compromise back in that day, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security, who is now the TSA Administrator, was given the ability to fix the compensation and terms thereof, and included in that was the determination about whether collective bargaining rights would be afforded to these TSA employees.

In a 2003 memo, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security at that time prohibited TSA security screeners from unionizing with collective bargaining rights. The Under Secretary wrote:

I hereby determine that individuals carrying out the security screening function under section 44901 of Title 49, United States Code, in light of their critical national security responsibilities, shall not, as a term or condition of their employment, be entitled to engage in collective bargaining or be represented for the purpose of engaging in such bargaining by any representative or organization.

The determination was made by the predecessor of the TSA Administrator that in light of their critical national security responsibilities, it was not appropriate for collective bargaining rights to be included.

Now we have every reason to believe that under this new administration, that decision is about to be reversed. A decade of experience and practice will be ended unless this Congress acts, and the appropriate vehicle on which to act is this reauthorization bill before us. Wicker amendment No. 14 would simply exclude TSA personnel from forming a union with collective bargaining rights. I point out to my colleagues that the FBI and the CIA and the Secret Service, which all have similar critical national security responsibilities, do not have collective bargaining rights either. So the spirit of amendment No. 14 would be to continue TSA employees in that same vein.

TSA workers have fared well indeed during the past decade. It is a good job. I enjoy seeing them, I enjoy working with them, and we are glad to have them. But for good reason, they have been excluded from collective bargaining rights.

The TSA and TSA leadership need the flexibility to innovate and to move quickly during times of national emergency on issues involving the security of the traveling public, and for that reason I submit that adding the burdensome responsibility of union demands and dealing with collective bargaining demands could limit the ability of those responsible for the very important function of security at some of the most high-risk targets and make it harder for our security personnel to do their job.

So I will be urging my colleagues during this day--we will be urging the American people to contact their Senators and to let their voices be heard. TSA has worked well in this regard, and we do not need to burden it with extra responsibilities when they need to be concentrating on security.

I yield the floor.

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