Congressman Pete Stauber, R-Duluth, voted Thursday, March 5, in support of legislation intended to ensure Transportation Security Administration screening employees — otherwise known as transportation security officers — are given the same protections as other federal workers, including collective bargaining under the Civil Service Reform Act, pay under the general scale and workforce protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
H.R. 1140, the Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act of 2019, of which Stauber is a cosponsor, passed the House with a vote of 230 to 171.
“TSA agents work tirelessly to keep the American people safe, but sadly, they are subjected to a system that denies them basic protections afforded to other federal employees,” Stauber stated in a news release. “Unfortunately, the refusal to give these officers the rights guaranteed to every other federal worker has resulted in low morale and an unusually high turnover rate at the TSA. As a pro-labor Republican in Congress, I was proud to vote for this critical legislation that will improve TSA workforce protections, help to retain experienced officers and attract new talent, and improve national security by extension.”
