|
NTEU Applauds Further Inquiry By House Members into TSA-MSPB Agreement
NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley welcomed further inquiry by key House members to require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to provide the specific details of how whistleblower retaliation complaints brought by Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) will be adjudicated by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) under a recently implemented agreement between TSA and the MSPB.
President Kelley said the congressional inquiry “is an appropriate and necessary step to determine whether TSOs will enjoy meaningful protections against retaliation under the new system.”
NTEU strongly supports the provisions contained in H.R. 985, approved by the House, which would grant TSOs whistleblower rights by statute. “Rather than leave the extension of this much-needed right for TSOs to the agency’s discretion, we are continuing to seek full congressional approval of the language in the House-passed bill,” Kelley said. “TSOs who blow the whistle on mismanagement or dangers to the public health and safety must be protected against retaliation to the same extent as other federal employees. Further, their rights should not be dependent upon an agreement which TSA can revoke at its discretion, simply by giving 60 days notice.”
In a letter to TSA, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and the head of its subcommittee on Management, Investigations and Oversight sought additional information about pending implementation of an agreement TSA reached with the MSPB implementing whistleblower protections for TSOs.
Kelley applauded the efforts of Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Subcommittee Chairman Christopher Carney (D-Pa.), who in the letter to TSA Administrator Kip Hawley made reference to a TSA-MSPB agreement announced in late July setting out the terms and conditions of an interagency contract between those two bodies reached earlier this year. More
Influential House Member Visits With NTEU-Represented TSOs in New York
Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) at one of the nation’s busiest airports took advantage of an opportunity to discuss a range of workplace issues—including the urgent need for
collective bargaining rights—with a key member of the House of Representatives.
The meeting, at the invitation of NTEU and Chapter 311, came during a visit by Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) to LaGuardia International Airport (LGA). Clarke is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee and two of its subcommittees. NTEU Chapter 311 represents TSOs at LGA.
At the meeting, several TSOs discussed the need for a fair pay system, better working conditions and unfair treatment by management.
“Considering the variety of serious problems impacting this workforce, the high-level attention to the views of TSA employees is welcome and refreshing,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. More
|