WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative John W. Mannion (NY-22) today released the following statement denouncing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to end collective bargaining rights for more than 40,000 TSA employees responsible for aviation safety:
“The millions of Americans who pass through airports each year should be deeply troubled by the Homeland Security Secretary’s unilateral decision to strip collective bargaining rights from 40,000 TSA employees who keep our airports and skies safe, including at Syracuse Hancock International Airport.
This attack on labor is part of a disturbing trend from the Trump administration, which is scapegoating and villainizing essential public workers and, in the process, making the government less efficient and less responsive to the everyday needs of seniors, farmers, veterans – and now air travelers.
If left unchallenged, this will make air travel less secure at a time when more Americans than ever are passing through our airports. It will exasperate TSA’s already challenging recruitment problem and drive experienced employees away. It is also a direct betrayal of the bargaining agreement TSA signed just last year—proving once again that this administration sees no issue with breaking promises to working people.
This is an urgent public safety matter. I stand with these TSA officers, I support the legal challenges that will undoubtedly arise, and I will work with my colleagues in Congress to introduce legislation to protect, restore, and level the playing field for TSA officers. Our frontline security personnel deserve better, and I will not stop fighting until they get it.”
