AFGE Represents TSA Screeners At Cleveland Airport
By ARI PAUL

The American Federation of Governmental Employees established its 15th affiliate to represent U.S. Transportation Security Administration employees.

The union announced July 30 the chartering of Local 615, representing TSA screeners at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Even though nearly 6,000 TSA screeners belong to AFGE, they are denied collective-bargaining rights. Both AFGE and the National Treasury Employees Union are lobbying to change that.

'A Growing Movement'

"The chartering of these locals represents a growing movement amongst [Transportation Security Officers] to have a strong voice within the workplace," AFGE President John Gage said in a statement. "In our seven-year organizing campaign, AFGE has gone from working with a couple hundred TSOs in a few major airports to empowering TSOs stateside, as well as in Puerto Rico and Guam, to organize themselves into AFGE local unions."

The union also recently acquired members at John F. Kennedy International Airport who formerly belonged to the NTEU. The two unions are engaged in a turf battle over the TSA workers, as both represent Department of Homeland Security employees.