Supporting the TSA Workforce by Removing a Union That Harms Transportation Security Officers

This February 27, 2025 memorandum strips collective bargaining and union representation rights from Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) who work for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The memo was signed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and rescinds a prior determination by a TSA Administrator that expanded TSO bargaining rights, voids a May 2024 collective bargaining agreement with the union American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). The memo invokes the authority provided by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, which gave the TSA Administrator broad power over TSO employment. As a result of the memo, TSA must cease deducting union dues from paychecks and must stop investigating grievances or negotiating with the union. The memo claims that the union has harmed TSOs and that stripping TSOs of collective bargaining rights is in TSO's interests. Finally, the memo directs TSA to devise a plan to ensure that no future administration can restore TSO collective bargaining rights without a change in statute. The policy has been challenged in litigation.