Government Executive
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ordered Transportation Security Administrator David Pekoske to align employees’ rights with those enjoyed by the vast majority of federal workers, including access to the General Schedule pay system.
The Biden administration on Thursday announced that it would extend full Title 5 federal employee protections to workers at the Transportation Security Administration, granting full collective bargaining rights, access to the Merit Systems Protections Board, and better pay.
Since TSA was established following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the agency has had wide latitude to develop its own workforce policies. As a result, TSA screeners have suffered through chronically low pay, a lack of union and due process protections—abridged collective bargaining rights were only granted in 2011—enjoyed by most other federal workers. The agency has consistently seen higher turnover and lower morale than most other federal agencies.
