Unions representing more than 100,000 flight attendants across the United States have accused the Trump administration of choosing to “create havoc” by refusing to pay TSA officers and instead threatening an “ICE invasion” at airport security checkpoints.
The accusations were made in a strongly worded open letter on Sunday from the four largest flight attendant unions in the United States, which represent crew members at American Airlines and United, as well as Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest, Frontier, and Spirit.
Who are the unions?
- The Association of Flight Attendants – represents crew members at United, Alaska, Frontier, and Spirit, amongst others.
- The Association of Professional Flight Attendants – represents crew members at American Airlines.
- Transport Workers Union – represents crew members at Southwest Airlines and JetBlue.
- IAM union – Commuteair and National Airlines.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has billions of dollars in discretionary funding that could be used to pay TSOs during this partial shutdown, just like they have chosen to continue paying active duty members of the U.S. Coast Guard,” the letter blasted.
“The administration has also continued to pay ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents. Instead of paying TSOs, they have chosen to create havoc in our airports.”
The letter added that flight attendants may refuse to work if they believe that security is being compromised as a result of the ongoing shutdown or the arrival of ICE agents at airport checkpoints.
“Flight Attendants will not allow the TSA and the frontline Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) who keep us safe to be used as pawns in this dangerous game, nor will we fly in an aviation system that doesn’t put our safety and security first,” the letter explained.
President Trump first suggested the idea of deploying ICE agents to airport security checkpoints on Saturday due to serious TSA staffing shortages that are causing long lines at major aviation hubs.
By Sunday, the administration confirmed it was pressing ahead with the idea, with ICE agents set to be deployed at some airports as early as Monday. What role they will play, however, is still being worked out.
DHS border czar Tom Homan is overseeing the deployment of ICE agents at commercial airports, but in an interview with CNN on Sunday, Homan admitted that they would not be able to carry out the primary functions of TSA officers, like working baggage X-ray machines or body scanners.
Instead, Homan suggested that his agents would be used to free up TSA officers who are sometimes used at exits or checkpoint entrances.
Explaining why ICE agents can’t take over the primary role of TSA officers (often referred to as TSOs), the letter from the flight attendant unions continued:
“This latest threat of ICE invasion at the airports is another distraction from solutions that protect Americans. TSOs can’t simply be replaced.”
“They undergo a six-month training program in which they learn to screen passengers while evaluating and managing risks within the unique context of an airport—especially how to identify disguised or disassembled weapons and explosives.”
“This is expertise and training that ICE agents simply do not have, and cannot learn quickly.”
The unions are also concerned that ICE agents will have “contradictory missions” and could be distracted from their role of aviation safety by questioning passengers about their immigration status.
“There’s one solution that immediately solves the problem at our airports. Pay the people who are already trained to protect us from terror attacks today, especially as the war with Iran increases the desire to strike against Americans,” the letter added.
Also on Sunday, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents TSOs, hit out at Trump’s plan to deploy ICE agents at security checkpoints.
“Putting untrained personnel at security checkpoints does not fill a gap. It creates one,” Everett Kelley said. He added that TSOs “deserve to be paid, not replaced by untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.”
The shutdown at DHS is the result of a funding row between Republicans and Democrats that has seen TSA agents go unpaid since February 14. The main sticking point is that Democrats are refusing to clear a full DHS appropriations package without policy reforms at ICE.
Democrats have, however, introduced legislation to fund paychecks for TSOs while the rest of the appropriations package is worked out. Republican lawmakers have voted down this legislation.
In the meantime, lines at airport security checkpoints grow longer as TSOs call out sick so that they can take on second jobs to earn money. When and where these staffing shortages are happening is difficult to predict, although some of the worst-affected airports include New York JFK, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Chicago Midway.
