U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-06) is leading an effort by 38 members of Congress to reverse a Transportation Security Administration decision to remove chairs from document checking stations at airports across the country.
McBath and 37 House colleagues sent a letter to TSA Administrator David P. Cummins urging the agency to restore seating for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), arguing that the policy places an unnecessary burden on employees who have already faced challenges involving delayed pay and collective bargaining rights.
McBath, who worked as a flight attendant for 30 years before being elected to Congress, said she represents a district that includes many employees of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
In their letter, lawmakers characterized the removal of chairs as part of an ongoing pattern of workplace policies that they contend have negatively affected TSA employees. Lawmakers also pointed to recent disputes over employee compensation and collective bargaining protections.
“Since October of last year, officers at TSA have been forced to work 88 days without being paid on time. They have had to fight in court to protect their collective bargaining agreement from being unilaterally canceled and are now being told that they are not allowed to sit down while they perform their duties at checker stations,” the letter states.
The lawmakers went on to allege that the changes are designed to drive employees away from the agency rather than improve airport security or passenger service.
“It is abundantly clear that these changes are intended to try to push officers out of their jobs with TSA, not to keep the American people safe or improve service,” they wrote.
“This is about more than chairs,” the letter continues. “This is about the respect that every person in the United States deserves at work and on the job. American workers are tired of being treated as expendable.”
“Transportation Security Officers, or TSOs, have an incredibly important job. They are the first line of defense in keeping Americans and their families safe during air travel,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter has been endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AFGE TSA Council 100, and AFGE TSA Local 554 in Atlanta.
Aaron Barker Jr., president of AFGE Local 554, also criticized the policy and praised the congressional effort to reverse it.
“TSA officers have continued to show up and protect the traveling public through government shutdowns, delayed pay, and attacks on their collective bargaining rights,” Barker said. “Removing chairs from document checker stations is yet another unnecessary hardship placed on an already strained workforce.”
Three Georgia Democrats signed the letter: McBath, Rep. Hank Johnson, and Rep. Nikema Williams.
Other signatories include Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Maxwell Frost of Florida, and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, among others.
