As the nation prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, AFGE thanks the dedicated federal employees at the Transportation Security Administration who have kept the flying public safe ever since.
“The TSA officers we represent across more than 400 airports show up every day to protect the traveling public – intercepting weapons, identifying threats, and preventing harm from occurring at our nation’s airports and in our skies. They show up for America, even when they go unpaid during government shutdowns, because they swore an oath to protect every American life,” AFGE Council 100 President Hydrick Thomas said.
Tens of thousands of TSA officers dutifully reported to work this spring even as they went unpaid for over a month due to Congress’ failure to fund TSA and other agencies under the Department of Homeland Security.
Yet instead of thanking officers for their sacrifice, this administration wants to privatize their jobs.
TSA notified AFGE in July that it planned to launch a new privatization program called TSA Gold+ at three airports next year: Tampa, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.; and Des Moines, Iowa. The new program would put private contractors in control not only of security screening functions but the screening technology itself – the very machines that detect explosives, weapons, and other prohibited items.
But in the face of intense opposition from AFGE leaders and members, TSA was forced to reverse course after Tampa Airport Authority officials announced plans to stay with TSA, followed by the other two airports.
AFGE President Everett Kelley attended the Tampa Airport Authority monthly meeting Sept. 3 and thanked the authority for listening to the concerns raised by AFGE members, lawmakers, and the public and opting to stay with TSA.
But the administration’s push to privatize airport security screening isn’t over, Kelley warned.
“Despite the announcement that it’s abandoning Gold+, TSA is continuing its push to privatize airport security by now looking to dramatically expand the number of airports using contractors instead of federal employees to screen airline passengers. This privatization push will take America back to the failed security model that was in place on Sept. 11, 2001, and that Congress wisely rejected when it federalized airport security nearly 25 years ago,” Kelley said.
The administration’s fiscal 2027 budget proposes to eliminate 8,400 TSO positions – roughly 14% of TSA’s screening workforce. About 4,500 of those positions would be replaced by private contractors through a proposed mandatory expansion of the Screening Partnership Program to include all small and non-hub airports, known as Categories III and IV, respectively. Currently about 20 of the nation’s 440 commercial airports have opted to use private screening, but the administration’s proposal would expand that number more than tenfold to about 220 airports.
“The Trump administration’s clear objective is to ultimately privatize all aviation security screening functions, and we don’t have to theorize about what that may look like because we have been through this before and witnessed the devastating and deadly consequences,” Kelley said. “The administration’s actions should concern all Americans, and AFGE will continue to speak out against any proposal that threatens our members’ jobs and jeopardizes the safety of the flying public.”
Most federal employees will receive no cost-of-living increase next year absent congressional action, thanks to President Trump’s decision to freeze their wages.
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As the nation prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, AFGE thanks the dedicated federal employees at the Transportation Security Administration who have kept the flying public safe ever since.
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This Labor Day, AFGE National President Everett Kelley calls on members to recognize the importance of union solidarity.
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