THIS JUST IN: AFGE and TSA Agree to Historic Labor Contract

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) announced yesterday that it had reached agreement with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on the first-ever labor contract at the agency. “This collective bargaining agreement will better the working lives of 45,000 hard-working, dedicated employees, and that’s a fantastic feeling,” AFGE TSA Council 100 President Kim Kraynak-Lambert said. “TSOs (Transportation Security Officers) come to work every day in the face of intense public and Congressional scrutiny and, to the best of their ability, protect this nation from terrorist attacks. Now we can look forward to new rights and new working conditions, and a chance to form a true labor-management partnership.” The agreement must be ratified by the TSA workforce, a process that will take place in the coming months. “For 10 long years AFGE has fought hard so that Transportation Security Officers would have collective bargaining rights. We have often looked back and wondered why it was taking so long,” said AFGE National President John Gage. “Today we begin to look forward.”