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In Yet Another Win, AFGE TSA Members Expand Official Time and Union Representation
June 05, 2023
Categories:
TSA, The Insider
AFGE Members at TSA Council 100 will now have even more of a say in their workplace thanks to a recently reached Memoriam of Agreement (MOA) between AFGE and the Transportation Security Administration. The MOA expands the amount of official time granted to AFGE TSA Council 100 members and provides workspaces for union representatives at most locals.
AFGE TSA Council 100 will now go from having twelve union representatives to represent 40,000 TSOs to 193 members across the nation with dedicated workspaces covering the majority of America’s airports.
“The accessibility to union representation just went through the roof,” said Johnny Jones, Secretary-Treasurer for AFGE Council 100. “As opposed to the previous situation, where union representation was very limited and restricted, now it's going to be front and center. You're going to see the union everywhere. We hope that everybody gets an opportunity to see their union representatives at the airports.”
Time spent in official time will also be flexible, per the agreement. The agreement will allow union representatives to continue to work at airports part of the time while also working to represent their fellow union members. This allows them to stay current on their registration while also serving their workplace.
“The scope of it is the big reason it will bring us in line with other agencies. TSA was so woefully behind prior to this. That's a massive shift,” said Chris Blessing, Legal Rights Attorney for AFGE, who helped work on the agreement along with AFGE Deputy Chief of Staff Amelia Glymph.
According to Blessing, the number of representatives on union time will finally come into line with the agency’s needs, especially when compared to the beginning of the TSA, when only two officials – the council President and Vice President -- were granted time to represent union members.
“For 40,000 TSOs, there were two people on 100% official time. That lasted for nearly a decade until a couple of years ago,” said Blessing. “AFGE got that number bumped up to twelve so that the full council could work on representational matters. So there's your evolution of numbers from two for a really long time, to twelve a couple years ago, to 193.”
The agreement also gives AFGE Council 100 a bank of hours that employees can request to perform representational work as well. Locals will also have the discretion to choose on or off-workplace stations for union members on official time.
While these changes will be a part of the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the TSA, the MOA will go into effect immediately.
This has been a banner year for TSA agents, having achieved a significant pay raise and expanded workplace rights last December going into the new year. The new MOA means union representatives will be front and center to assist our members and show potential members our union’s strength.
Johnny Jones stresses that these changes mean there will almost always be a union representative at hand on the job to support our TSA members.
“There used to be a way when you'd have to go find a unit representative, you would only find them in the break room or in the bathroom, but now you'll find them everywhere,” said Jones.
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