Hiring more screeners would shorten lines at airport security checkpoints, Transportation Security Administration workers said at a rally Tuesday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. But they also made it clear that turnover won’t be reduced until they are treated better.
In the last five years, 100 million more passengers are flying, but the number of screeners has not kept up and an additional 6,000 are needed, members of the American Federation of Government Employees said. The union is holding rallies around the country to show support for the important work done by TSA employees.
“The long lines are proof positive we can’t wait any longer to act,” said Celia Hahn, president of AFGE Local 899, which represents some 300 TSOs at MSP and smaller airports across Minnesota and North and South Dakota.
At the same time, “low morale and a revolving door policy” are aggravating the shortage, Hahn said. Rather than work with employees to resolve problems, the TSA pushes them out the door and hires new people, who then need to be trained, the union said.
AFGE Regional Vice President Vaughn Glenn cited the case of one worker who failed a computer-administered test because the machine was malfunctioning. But rather than give her another chance, rigid TSA rules required her manager to fire her.
Another stress on employees is mandatory overtime, Hahn said. Workers are being forced to work extra hours, work through breaks and have seen scheduled vacation time cancelled.
Congress has placed a cap on the number of full-time workers that TSA can hire, leading to more part-time employees – the group with the largest turnover.
Finally, because of a provision called Title 5, TSA officers do not have the same workplace rights and protections as many other workers. For example, they are not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act nor the Family and Medical Leave Act.
HF 4488, legislation introduced this spring in the U.S. House of Representatives, would grant TSA officers full worker rights.
AFGE said Congress needs to appropriate more money to fund additional screeners. One solution, airline industry observers say, would be for Congress and the White House to stop diverting $12.6 billion in passenger security fees. The money, added to ticket prices after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has been taken to be spent on other programs rather than aviation security.
Participants at Tuesday’s rally included representatives of Congressman Keith Ellison, DFL-5th District, and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, DFL-Minn., who back more funding for screeners.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman told the group, “The cost to our communities of these increased wait times is significant” and called on Congress to act to “provide more resources and a fair working environment.”
One solution that has been proposed – turning airport security over to private contractors – should be off the table, said Bill McCarthy, president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, the state’s largest labor federation.
“We should never put our safety in the hands of for-profit companies,” he said.