WASHINGTON, DC: Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President April Verrett released this statement in response to the Trump administration’s cancellation of the TSA workers’ union contract, following a lawsuit filed by AFGE on their behalf:

"TSA workers keep us safe every day, securing our airports and enforcing the law. In contrast, abruptly canceling workers’ ratified union contract is a blatant attack on working people’s union rights. The Trump Administration and DHS are cheating hardworking Americans—many of them veterans—out of the higher wages, parental leave, sick leave, and bereavement leave they fought for, won and codified in their lawful union contract. This is part of a familiar and disgusting pattern. President Trump, Secretary Noem, and the rest of this anti-worker administration have shown zero commitment to ensuring working people have a fair chance to thrive.

The federal government is the largest employer in the country, and this action sends a clear signal to CEOs and big corporations that this administration is perfectly fine with union busting. SEIU members have another message to send corporations and the administration: We refuse to back down and we will never stop organizing and building power together. This administration, and the corporations it backs, are afraid of the power of working people, which is why they spend so much time and money to suppress organizing, and why they’re willing to do anything they can to keep workers from having a seat at the table.

Collective bargaining is essential to giving workers a voice and establishing fair standards. We know the American Federation of Government Employees will keep fighting to ensure their members have a voice on the job and the wages and protections of their union contracts. SEIU’s two million members are proud to voice our unwavering solidarity with AFGE and the 47,000 brave Transportation Security Officers who put their safety on the line every day to protect our skies."

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