AFGE and allies last week filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for unlawfully and unilaterally terminating a negotiated union contract, which protects approximately 47,000 Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) across the country.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle, the lawsuit seeks to block this illegal action, which violates the constitutional rights of federal employees and undermines collective bargaining protections.
The group argues that Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s actions constitute unconstitutional retaliation against AFGE for exercising its First Amendment right to advocate on behalf of federal workers and that the administration’s actions also violate the Fifth Amendment by stripping TSA workers of vested property rights without due process.
The group demands immediate injunctive relief to stop the administration from rescinding the existing contract, eliminating union representation, and stripping workers of their bargaining rights.
“This attack on our members is not just an attack on AFGE or transportation security officers. It’s an assault on the rights of every American worker,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley. “Tearing up a legally negotiated union contract is unconstitutional, retaliatory, and will make the TSA experience worse for American travelers.”
“These attempts by the administration to silence everyday workers across this country through retaliation and intimidation will not succeed,” he added. “We will fight tirelessly to protect the rights of federal employees and defend our union contracts. TSA workers and American travelers deserve better – and we won’t stop fighting until they get it.”
Besides AFGE, the plaintiffs include AFGE TSA Local 1121, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA). The group is represented by Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC, and the State Democracy Defenders Fund (SDDF).
