by James Parks, Apr 20, 2011
In one of the biggest union elections in recent years, nearly 85 percent of the transportation security officers (TSOs) voted to join a union. AFGE led the voting and will face a runoff with another union to determine who will represent the 43,000 TSOs at 450 of the nation’s airports.
The ballot offered three choices: AFGE, no union or NTEU, an unaffiliated union. The voting began March 9 and ended April 19. In order to win, one of the choices had to gain 50 percent plus one vote of all the TSOs voting. No date has been set for the runoff.
Even though the TSOs did not have collective bargaining rights, more than 12,000 TSO members are currently in 40 AFGE local unions across the country. It took 10 years before the TSOs finally gained the right to bargain. At its March meeting, the AFL-CIO Executive Council approved a statement supporting the officers right to bargain, which said, in part:
Having won the right to bargain collectively, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) workers are now poised to elect their exclusive union representative…. With the support of AFGE, which has worked so persistently and aggressively on their behalf, and with the full backing and assistance of the AFL-CIO, these workers will be successful.
The AFL-CIO also is asking union members to speak with the TSOs whenever you’re in an airport and urge the workers to “Vote Yes for AFGE.”
