In a sharp judicial rebuke, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle collective bargaining rights for tens of thousands of TSA officers—accusing officials of providing little more than a political grudge masquerading as policy.
U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman, ruling from Seattle, stopped the Department of Homeland Security from killing a union contract that protects about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration employees. Her decision came in response to a legal challenge from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and allied unions, who claim the administration crossed the legal line in gutting their bargaining power.
Pechman didn’t mince words. The judge said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem failed to offer a credible explanation for reversing Obama-era decisions that supported limited union rights for TSA staff. Instead, Pechman suggested the move looked retaliatory—punishment, she wrote, for the union’s resistance to the Trump administration’s broader war on organized labor in federal agencies.
“The Noem Determination appears to have been undertaken to punish AFGE and its members,” Pechman stated in her opinion, casting the move as politically charged and constitutionally suspect.
While TSA officers don’t enjoy the same labor protections as other federal workers—due to the national security nature of their roles—their union had, over time, secured the ability to bargain over key workplace conditions. That included wins like paid leave, uniform stipends, and shift trade flexibility—part of a landmark seven-year agreement struck just last year under the Biden administration.
Then came February 27. Noem issued a memo terminating the union’s footing, claiming the contract encouraged abuse of leave and protected underperforming employees. She ordered DHS to dissolve the agreement within 90 days and even went so far as to request legal barriers against future administrations granting similar bargaining rights without Congressional blessing.
But Judge Pechman wasn’t buying the rationale. She called Noem’s arguments “threadbare” and devoid of evidence, especially the claim that union activity threatened national transportation safety. More critically, she said DHS likely violated administrative law and due process by executing such a major policy reversal without proper justification.
AFGE welcomed the court’s decision as a firewall against what it described as unconstitutional union-busting. “This ruling sends a clear signal: the administration cannot trample on workers’ rights without consequence,” said union president Everett Kelley.
The Trump administration has made no secret of its intent to kneecap federal unions. Earlier rulings have allowed its rollback campaign to proceed, although several court fights remain active.
This latest ruling keeps TSA’s union contract alive—for now. Whether it survives long term depends on what happens next in court. But for the moment, the judge’s message was unmistakable: this fight is far from over, and shortcuts won’t cut it.
