A coalition of American unions has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and TSA Senior Official Adam Stahl for the ‘unlawful and unilateral termination of a negotiated union contract.’
The contract protects approximately 47,000 Transportation Security Officers (TSOs).
The plaintiffs include the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AFGE TSA Local 1121, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA).
Filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle last Friday, the lawsuit seeks to block this illegal action, which violates the constitutional rights of federal employees and undermines collective bargaining protections.
The plaintiffs argue that Secretary Noem’s actions constitute unconstitutional retaliation against AFGE for exercising its First Amendment right to advocate on behalf of federal workers and that the administration’s actions also violate the Fifth Amendment by stripping TSA workers of vested property rights without due process.
They demand immediate injunctive relief to stop the administration from rescinding the existing contract, eliminating union representation, and stripping workers of their bargaining rights.
They are represented by Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC, and the State Democracy Defenders Fund (SDDF).
AFGE National President Everett Kelley said: ‘This attack on our members is not just an attack on AFGE or transportation security officers. It’s an assault on the rights of every American worker.
‘Tearing up a legally negotiated union contract is unconstitutional, retaliatory, and will make the TSA experience worse for American travellers.
‘These attempts by the administration to silence everyday workers across this country through retaliation and intimidation will not succeed.
‘We will fight tirelessly to protect the rights of federal employees and defend our union contracts.
‘TSA workers and American travellers deserve better – and we won’t stop fighting until they get it.’
CWA President Claude Cummings, Jr said: ‘Every worker and everyone who passes through an airport should be alarmed that Secretary Noem is illegally retaliating against TSA workers by refusing to honour their union contract.
‘TSA officers keep CWA Passenger Service Agents and Flight Attendants safe on the job.
‘The fair pay and benefits guaranteed by the TSA officers’ collective bargaining agreement attract highly-qualified workers, and the protections the agreement offers ensure that they can raise concerns about issues that impact their ability to do their jobs effectively.
‘No employer should be able to arbitrarily terminate a union contract.’
Sara Nelson, president of AFA-CWA, representing 55,000 Flight Attendants at 20 airlines said: ‘The decision to eliminate collective bargaining rights for TSA is terrible for aviation security and everyone who depends on safe travel.
‘The Trump administration’s attacks on TSA workers are yet another example of the administration’s disregard for the rule of law.’
Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of SDDF, said: ‘The administration’s actions are unconstitutional and significantly threaten the fundamental rights of federal employees.
‘State Democracy Defenders Fund stands firmly with the unions in this fight, and we will use every legal tool at our disposal to stop this brazen abuse of power.’
Meanwhile last Thursday, A federal judge in San Francisco, California ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to rehire tens of thousands, of probationary workers let go in mass sackings across multiple government agencies, and blasted the dramatic downsizing of the federal government.
US District Judge William Alsup said that the redundancies were directed by the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director, Charles Ezell, who lacked the authority to do so.
The administration immediately filed an appeal of the injunction with the Ninth Circuit Court.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly pushed back, casting the ruling as an attempt to encroach on executive power to hire and fire employees.
She said: ‘The Trump Administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order.’
Alsup’s order tells the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defence, Energy, and the Treasury to immediately offer job reinstatement to the sacked employees.
He also directed the departments to report back within seven days with a list of probationary employees and an explanation of how the agencies complied with his order as to each person.
The temporary restraining order came in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labour unions and organisations as the Republican administration moves to reduce the federal workforce.
Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project and one of the plaintiffs, said: ‘These mass-firings of federal workers were not just an attack on government agencies and their ability to function, they were also a direct assault on public lands, wildlife, and the rule of law.’
Alsup expressed frustration with what he called the government’s attempt to sidestep laws and regulations governing a reduction in its workforce – which it is allowed to do – by firing probationary workers who lack protections and cannot appeal.
He was appalled that employees were told they were being fired for poor performance despite receiving glowing evaluations just months earlier.
- Columbia University in New York city has expelled and suspended students for occupying a campus building during last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests, and has also temporarily revoked the diplomas of some graduates involved.
The university confirmed in a campus-wide email that a judicial board issued a range of sanctions against students who occupied Hamilton Hall in April 2024 to protest against the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza.
Columbia did not disclose the exact number of students affected, stating that sanctions were determined based on ‘the severity of behaviours.’
The crackdown comes as the Trump administration strips over $400 million in federal funding from the university, citing ‘failure to address alleged anti-Semitism’ at the campus.
Earlier this month, Mahmoud Khalil, a well-known Palestinian campus activist, was detained by federal immigration authorities and is facing deportation.
Trump has said the arrest would be the ‘first of many’ such detentions.
The protests at Columbia were a part of a larger movement against Israel’s bloody onslaught in Gaza, and students set up a tent encampment that quickly spread to other campuses in the US.
On April 30th, 2024, a group of activists barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall, locking the doors with broken furniture and padlocks.
At the request of university leaders, hundreds of New York police stormed onto campus the following night, arresting dozens of people.
Back in June, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said it would not pursue criminal charges for 31 of the 46 people initially arrested on trespassing charges inside the administration building.
But the students still faced disciplinary hearings and possible expulsion from the university.
On Thursday, Khalil and seven students filed a lawsuit seeking to block a Congressional committee from obtaining disciplinary records of students involved in campus protests at Columbia and Barnard College, a women’s institution affiliated with Columbia.
