AFGE: Additional TSA Screeners Needed

June 6, 2016 
By John Quinn, LaborPress USA

Washington, DC – The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is asking Congress to pass emergency legislation funding 6,000 additional screeners, which are needed to counter staffing cuts and address growing passenger counts.

“It’s time for Congress to stop the waiting games and give TSA the resources it needs to meet growing demands at our nation’s airports,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said. “This is not a complicated problem, but Congress is avoiding the common sense solution: Give TSA the resources it needs to hire enough screeners to meet passenger demand.”

AFGE points to a 5,000 employee reduction since 2013 and a 15 percent increase in passenger volume as reason for the requested increases in funding. Total passenger volume is expected to exceed 800 million this year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Congress has shifted funds from other Homeland Security accounts so that TSA could hire approximately 800 new employees and pay for additional overtime, however, Cox considered that to be a short-term fix to a long-term issue.