Hundreds of Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) and their allies rallied today in Washington for the right of these federal employees to have union recognition. Union leaders remembered that many union members gave their lives in the rescue efforts on 9/11, took down the shooter at Ft. Hood, and defend our security every day as pilots, flight attendants and law enforcement officers. Indeed, we would be more secure if TSOs knew they had protection on the job when they raise safety concerns against management. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AFL-CIO, has just filed a petition to represent 40,000 TSOs, and is rallying support for HR 1881 to assure these dedicated public servants the freedom of association, speech, and petition for redress of grievances that are guaranteed in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Pictured here is Amanda Schroeder of AFGE Local 2157 in Portland, Oregon. Some attenders even signed up for the National Whistleblowers Center’s Action Alert network to call for passage of HR 1507 and assure all federal employees a right to trials by jury in their whistleblower cases.
