AFGE TSA Brothers and Sisters:
Happy Holidays! Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or another holiday during this time of year, Council 100 wishes you a safe and happy holiday season. As we gather with family, friends, coworkers, in-laws, and others, let us be grateful, in good cheer, and selfless in giving of ourselves to those who are less fortunate. As a wise elder once stated: We may not have as much as some, but we have more than most—which is just enough for us.
Last holiday season, we were beginning to emerge from one of the greatest pandemics since 1918; yet here we are in December 2021, celebrating, but still cautious and potentially facing another aggressive strain, known as the omicron variant, of the coronavirus. Whether you choose to become vaccinated or not is a personal decision between yourself and your family, but please continue to follow safety and health protocols, as uncomfortable and inconvenient they may be.
Recently, we found out that our Administrator was less than willing to provide an annual bonus to the dedicated, hard-working, essential frontline workers of TSA. Instead, he decided to replace it with a faux-incentivized game of chicken between an employee’s health for themselves and their families and showing up to work possibly sick or unable to care for a sick family member, just to attain the attendance-related incentive. It must be nice for him to dangle a carrot while our TSA brothers and sisters fight to make ends-meet at one of the lowest paying Federal agencies in the Federal government.
Is it not enough that current TSA frontline Officers man understaffed checkpoints and baggage areas, while our airports see record profits? Is it not enough that we have already seen many of our coworkers pass away or become ill due to this ongoing pandemic? Is it not enough that our officers come to work everyday without allowing another catastrophic event from occurring?
What is considered enough for Administrator Pekoske to find some well-deserved funds to pay those who he has often publicly, including in front of U.S. Congress members, called his dedicated workforce?! If what has occurred over the last two years—(or even the last 19 years!) was not enough—then nothing will be enough. Right now, the workforce is saying that enough is enough!
Administrator Pekoske sends out broadcasts, speaks to Congress, and holds town halls with employees, promising better pay and various programs aimed at improving pay and morale, yet none have come close to fruition. Certainly, in his disconnected mind, the programs he offers are great, yet the workforce who have secured our skies and the American public since September 11th, 2001, know this to be patently false. If these are the games that must be played for the purpose of political theater, then Administrator Pekoske can play them elsewhere—our workforce has put up with too much for too long and these needless rhetorical statements of caring for the TSA workforce, without action, is tiresome.
For many reasons, we look forward to 2022; chief among them will be Administrator Pekoske’s term ending. Unless Administrator Pekoske figures out that as Administrator, under the ATSA, he—not TSA cronies or attorneys—has the ability to work with Council 100 and possesses unilateral authority to implement employee rights and set pay. With that, thank you for all you do and all you have done throughout this year and your careers at TSA. Again, happy holidays, be safe, love one another, and let’s fight like hell to get what we have earned!
In Unity, AFGE Council 100
Hydrick Thomas, President | Mac Johnson, Council Executive Vice President | Johnny Jones, Council Secretary-Treasurer | Shabay Izquierdo, Region 1 V.P. | John Hubert, Region 2 V.P. | Janis Casey, Region 3 V.P. | Becky Mancha, Region 4 V.P. | Greg Biel, Region 5 V.P. | Bobby Orozco Jr., Region 6 V.P. | Joe Shuker, Region 7 V.P. | Victor Payes Martinez, Fair Practices Coordinator | Concetta Fialkowski, Women’s Coordinator | Christopher Blessing, AFGE Council 100 Attorney