US airport security officers who verify boarding passes and IDs ahead of security checkpoints will no longer be allowed to sit down while working.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was moving forward with this change in policy to keep officers “alert”, the agency confirmed recently.
“This welcome change reinforces both our security posture and our commitment to hospitality by having these officers on their feet and alert,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.
“All officers must meet fitness for duty requirements to be capable of performing their vital national security function while simultaneously creating a welcoming and professional environment for travelers,” the statement added.
The American Federation of Government Employees Council (AFGEC), the union representing TSA officers, pushed back on this decision and said in a statement that it was not involved in the decision.
“These chairs serve as basic ergonomic and safety support for officers that stand and walk on hard surfaces all day,” the union added. “TSA is treating this matter like it is a privilege – it is not; it is basic safety and common decency for the workforce.”
Additionally, the union is calling the TSA’s move a “disregard for employee rights and safety”.
“This disregard for employee rights and safety is an example of a broad pattern of TSA’s true consideration of the employees who keep our nation safe,” the union’s statement said.
The TSA has navigated a tumultuous year after withstanding a ۷۶-day government shutdown from February to April that resulted in officers working without pay.
Due to the shutdown, some TSA workers did not report for unpaid duty or quit their jobs – and lines at security checkpoints grew across the US.
TSA workers were finally paid at the end of March after a presidential order from Donald Trump. The government shutdown ended on ۳۰ April after the US House passed a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security.
Furthermore, the labor union is raising alarms over a new program that will expand privatizing security checkpoints at three airports.
The AFGE has been reviewing legal options to fight back against the privatization push from the Trump administration.
As TSA workers navigate the growing changes to the agency under the Trump administration, the union is urging congressional and senatorial leaders to join its “collective resistance” against the administration.
“This is an opportune time to meet with members and non-members alike to tell and show them the importance of joining this union to form our collective resistance against this regime that is literally attempting to take out our workforce through whichever means possible,” it concluded.
