TSA Screeners' Union Sues the Trump Administration for Violating Its First Amendment Rights
Passengers suing the TSA for First Amendment violations have had a rough time in court.
The largest federal government employee union is alleging in a new lawsuit that the Trump administration violated its First Amendment rights and the "hallowed" sanctity of contracts by canceling a collective bargaining agreement covering Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport security screeners.
"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," said Everett Kelly, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), in an emailed statement announcing the lawsuit.
AFGE, alongside two unions representing airport workers and flight attendants, is suing the TSA, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, after Noem's unilateral decision last week to tear up what was supposed to be a seven-year union contract with TSA screeners.
DHS justified that action by saying the contract had allowed hundreds of TSA employees to collect government paychecks to do full-time union work. The department accused the union of failing to represent the interests of airport screeners and the flying public.
In its lawsuit, AFGE counters that DHS's decision to cancel the collective bargaining agreement is retaliation for the union's many other legal challenges against the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency–inspired activities.
According to Just Security's litigation tracker, AFGE is a lead plaintiff in at least four lawsuits challenging the administration's efforts to fire federal workers, remove civil servant protections, and centralize access to government records systems.
By retaliating against AFGE for filing these lawsuits, the union alleges, DHS has violated its First Amendment right to petition to the government. It also alleges that DHS has violated the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act by unilaterally and arbitrarily ripping up a binding union contract.
There are plenty of reasons to eliminate the TSA, given the ineffectiveness of its security screenings, the frequency with which it violates passengers' rights and physical dignity, and the inherent conflict of interest created by an airport security regulator providing airport security services.
Nevertheless, TSA agents likely have a strong legal claim that the Trump administration can't just unilaterally cancel a union contract.
AFGE will likely have an easier time asserting the rights of TSA screeners against their employer than the flying public has had trying to assert their rights in court against TSA screeners.
Over the years, passengers have filed multiple lawsuits against TSA agents for violating their rights.
That includes Dustin Dyer, who sued the government and individual TSA agents for violating his First and Fourth Amendment rights after they prevented him from filming his own security pat-down and then searched his cellphone.
An appellate court dismissed Dyer's case in late 2022, deciding that TSA agents have qualified immunity from lawsuits challenging their on-the-job actions.
Only since 2023 have federal appellate courts issued a string of opinions finding that TSA screeners are law enforcement officials and can, in fact, be sued in federal civil court.
While the union representing TSA agents asserts its rights in court, it might want to consider the rights of everyday air travelers who have a harder time doing the same.
