TSA renews push to end collective bargaining agreement for airport security screeners

The Transportation Security Administration has renewed efforts to terminate a collective bargaining agreement with airport screening officers, marking the second attempt this year under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The announcement comes just one month after the end of a 43-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.

According to a Friday statement, TSA plans to rescind the current seven-year contract in January, replacing it with what the agency calls a “security-focused framework.” The union contract, finalized last May, was originally set to remain in effect until 2031.

TSA’s decision relies on a September memorandum from Noem asserting that airport screeners “have a primary function of national security” and therefore should not engage in collective bargaining or have union representation. This directive comes despite a federal judge blocking Noem’s previous attempt to terminate the same agreement earlier this year.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents approximately 47,000 TSA workers, immediately condemned the decision as illegal and a violation of the preliminary injunction issued in June that halted Noem’s first attempt to end the contract.

“It definitely seems like they’re using all loopholes to try to eliminate collective bargaining rights for the transportation security officers,” said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the AFGE bargaining unit for TSA workers, in a phone interview Friday.

In Noem’s September memo, she acknowledged the existing injunction but did not explain why she concluded it didn’t prohibit her from pursuing the same outcome through a new directive while litigation remains pending. The original injunction barred TSA from rescinding the union contract or enforcing Noem’s orders to dismiss pending grievances but didn’t explicitly state whether its restrictions would extend to future directives.

TSA declined to comment on the union’s assertions when contacted Friday. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Adam Stahl, acting TSA deputy administrator, defended the decision in a statement: “Under the leadership of Secretary Noem, we are ridding the agency of wasteful and time-consuming activities that distracted our officers from their crucial work.” Stahl emphasized that airport screeners “need to be focused on their mission of keeping travelers safe.”

The timing of the announcement has drawn particular criticism, coming shortly after Noem held a news conference where she distributed $10,000 bonus checks to TSA officers who continued working without pay during the recent government shutdown.

“This is how they’re going to be repaid for coming to work every single day during the government shutdown?” Jones asked, describing the agency’s decision as “a slap in the face to the people they’re handing checks to.”

The labor dispute represents part of a broader tension between the Trump administration and federal employee unions. AFGE, which represents approximately 800,000 federal government employees, has been actively resisting administration efforts to weaken protections for federal workers.

Noem’s first attempt to rescind the collective bargaining agreement came in February. AFGE responded with a lawsuit claiming the move constituted retaliation for the union’s opposition to various Trump administration policies affecting federal workers, including the firing of probationary employees.

In granting the preliminary injunction in June, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman of Seattle stated that the order was necessary to preserve the rights and benefits TSA workers have long held under union representation. Pechman wrote that AFGE had demonstrated in its lawsuit that Noem’s directive “constitutes impermissible retaliation,” likely violated the union’s due process, and was “arbitrary and capricious.”

The judge’s findings suggested AFGE would likely prevail in the case, which is scheduled for trial next year. Meanwhile, the renewed effort to terminate the collective bargaining agreement signals an escalation in the administration’s approach to labor relations in the federal workforce, particularly in agencies deemed critical to national security.