TSA Tuesdays: The Sweet Irony of TSA's Union Battle
It's been a relatively slow news week as far as TSA stories go. There were no reports of any 15 year-old girls or 7 foot tall wookies being harassed. I believe I may have uncovered a reason for this. The TSA agents may have found themselves too busy embroiled in a battle over their union contract, only recently agreed upon in January of this year, which they claim the TSA has already been violating.Steve Strunsky of the Star Ledger reports:
Morale among the nation’s 45,000 airport screeners got a boost in January after their new union and the Transportation Security Administration reached the agency’s first collective bargaining agreement since the agency’s creation a decade ago in response to 9/11.But since then, the American Federation of Government Employees union says, TSA management has violated terms of the agreement involving performance evaluations, vacation time, dress code and other areas, sending morale back on a downward trajectory.
The morale of the American traveling public has been on a downward trajectory ever since Transportation Security Agency was formed to take control of the nation's airport security in 2002. Now that TSA agents are having the terms of their agreement with the TSA violated, perhaps more will recognize that they are actively violating an agreement the U.S. government supposedly has with the American people, that pesky 4th Amendment. Hopefully some of these agents can find some free time between genital gropings and union meetings to give it a read.One such agent interviewed by Strunsky described the low morale among agents due to the issues regarding the union contract:
"After the contract, morale was up, with people thinking, ‘We finally have rights,’ " said Stacy Bodtman, a screener at Newark Liberty International Airport and member of the AFGE national negotiating team that hammered out the contract. "Now it’s back down, with people feeling like the TSA is just going around doing whatever they want to do."
Oh the sweet, sweet irony of TSA agents being upset that their "rights" that they thought they had secured are in fact fairly meaningless to the management of the TSA. Similarly, many Americans who simply wish to travel without being unreasonably searched as per they believed to be guaranteed by the Constitution have a low morale as they see the TSA just "doing whatever it wants to do", with little to no recourse to stop it.Perhaps those that manage the TSA take their agreements with the union just as seriously as they do the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately for the TSA agents, they may find it difficult to achieve much recourse for their grievances, just as Americans have no recourse for addressing their complaints against the actions of TSA agents.Those individuals aspiring to work in the security field, including current TSA agents, should push for a free market in airport security, allowing airports and airlines to decide what level of security is most appropriate. Passengers would be free to choose alternate airlines or airports if they were unhappy with the conduct of security agents, and could pursue normal legal avenues if their rights were violated. Companies would compete to hire the very best workers, and by the same token those same workers could choose which companies to work for, and whether to join or form a union. Voluntary contracts would bind all parties to honor agreements between firms, workers, and customers.Until then, we can only enjoy the sweet taste of irony as TSA agents valiantly battle for their "rights."Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
