House panel advances bill granting airport screeners bargaining rights
Measure also would end TSA’s pay-for-performance system and return workers to the General Schedule.
On a party-line vote, the House Homeland Security Committee approved a bill on Thursday that would grant Transportation Security Administration employees collective bargaining rights, and move workers under the agency's pay-for-performance plan back to the General Schedule.
The 13-6 vote in favor of the bill (H.R. 1881) came after little debate. Committee members did not offer any amendments to the legislation.
Supporters said the bill would give TSA employees the same rights and protections as their counterparts in other Homeland Security Department agencies. Currently, the TSA administrator can decide whether or not to let employees bargain collectively.
"This bill transitions the entire TSA workforce to the mature, widely-accepted, and well-understood Title 5 federal employee system -- including the General Schedule," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in his opening statement. "Effectively, H.R. 1881 would bring an end to TSA's 'grand personnel experiment.' "
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking member of the committee, said the legislation was premature as a new Obama-appointed TSA administrator is not yet in place.
"This would tie the hands of the administration, and tie the hands of the administrator," King said. "I think this is very much a rush to judgment. We ought to be fair to the administration and fair to the department."
The National Treasury Employees Union -- which represents transportation security officers, but cannot bargain on their behalf -- was quick to praise the committee's vote.
"Passage of this legislation will enhance security at our nation's airports by retaining experienced employees and reducing costs created by high attrition rates, allowing TSA to become a world class airport security agency," NTEU President Colleen Kelley said.