SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The Trump Administration is facing backlash from TSA agents, their union and other airline workers after announcing an end to their collective bargaining rights.
The move would effectively bar thousands of federal workers from unionizing.
Some of those workers started rallying at the San Diego Airport Wednesday morning.
This all started on March 7, when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the announcement.
The memo from Washington says it’s an attempt to cut bureaucracy. The administration also says too many workers spend their time exclusively on the unions.
But workers themselves disagree.
The unions representing TSA employees say taking away their collective bargaining rights is an attack on workers— which could threaten worker protections, fair wages, and the TSA’s ability to respond to concerns in airports.
ABC 10News caught up with a TSA agent who says she’s scared about losing collective bargaining rights since they provide a way for employees to speak up in the workplace.
“Upper management, they can essentially do what they like with no checks or boundaries with an officer,” said Nyrine Washington, a TSA Agent and representative for union AFGE Local 1260. “That just creates great anxiety for an officer, day to day. There’s a lot of different things.”
The American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, trying to maintain workers’ rights to collectively bargain.
At this point, it’s unclear how that case will go.
Airport employees and union leaders started their protest at the San Diego Airport at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
