Republicans Will Try to Stall TSA Unionization on Monday

Submitted by Anonymous on February 6, 2011 - 9:44am

Thanks to the Obama administration, the federal government's airport gropers -- er, screeners -- are moving closer to unionizing.

The administration cleared the way last week for airport screeners to organize and bargain on workplace issues. If screeners vote to unionize, as expected, it will lead to the formation of one of the largest federal-sector unions.

On Monday, Republicans will try to block the TSA unionization effort as part of a bill to fund the Federal Aviation Administration.

"With the airport screening force mushrooming from 16,500 in 2001 to now nearly 63,000, this will be President Obama's biggest gift to organized labor," House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica, D-Fla., told the Wall Street Journal.

Sunshine State News' attempts to reach Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for comment on deadline were unsuccessful.

Transportation Security Administration chief Joe Pistole said union bargaining right would not include pay or security-related staffing issues.

Two unions are vying for the right to represent the screeners: the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union.

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