WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- U.S. senators were voting Tuesday on collective bargaining and other labor rights for federal aviation security screeners.
The federal workforce subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs heard testimony Monday from American Federation of Government Employees National President John Gage and Edmond "Kip" Hawley, director of the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, which employs the screeners.
"At its core, this debate is not about collective bargaining," Hawley said in prepared testimony, "It is about security." He said the TSA's strategy was based on "flexible, random, and unpredictable methods," and needed "a nimble, adaptable workforce that can quickly adjust to meet and counter an emerging terrorist threat" -- impossible with collective bargaining.
He reiterated administration threats that President Bush would veto the Sept. 11 reform bill currently being debated by the Senate, if it passed with a provision granting the screeners collective bargaining rights.
But others said union rights would improve both efficiency and security at the agency.
"Since 2001, TSA has faced high attrition rates, high numbers of worker compensation claims, and low employee morale which, in my opinion, is a direct result of a lack of employee rights and protections," said subcommittee Chairman Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, "Without a fair process to bring whistleblower complaints, employees are constrained in coming forward to disclose ... vulnerabilities to national security."
Senators are expected to vote Tuesday on amendments that would modify or remove the provision of the bill granting collective bargaining rights.
