The Washington Post reports that since 2007, at least 23 TSA workers have been fired for stealing items at security checkpoints or from checked baggage. Most recently, a TSA worker stole “almost $500 from a wheelchair-bound woman passing through a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport.” Further, the Post notes that in recent months there have been “at least eight unrelated incidents involving practical jokes played on air passengers, drug use, leaving a security post and falling asleep on the job.”
The reason why I bring this up is that last week Obama nominated his third pick to head the TSA. The first two picks withdrew their nominations due to ethical concerns. But in the Senate both nominations revolved around the question of whether unionizing TSA employees is appropriate, and I suspect this will be true of the third.
There are a myriad of national security reasons why unionizing TSA is bad, though obviously the Obama administration and Democrats are for unionizing TSA. However, the incidents above also make a powerful argument against unionization.
Has it ever in any organization become easier to discipline and fire employees after they have become unionized? Clearly, the TSA has problems in its workforce that need to be dealt with. Just imagine how difficult this is going to be when union lawyers get involved.
