Latest news with #DavidPekoske
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
The TSA may soon adopt a new liquids policy
The Department of Homeland Security recently announced that travelers will no longer be required to remove their shoes when being screened through advanced imaging technology at airport security checkpoints. Since travelers who do not have a REAL ID to authenticate their identity are subject to greater security screening, they will almost certainly not be eligible. This change in policy was announced by the DHS secretary, not by the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (the deputy administrator is currently serving as the acting administrator). The Senate has not approved a new administrator since David Pekoske was relieved of his duties by the president on Jan. 20, 2025. Given that some senators have called for the TSA to be abolished, such cacophony likely means that a new TSA administrator will not be named too soon. So why is this a problem? The TSA security gauntlet is an intricate system of layers, many of which are invisible to travelers. The most visible aspects are what is deployed at airport security checkpoints, including advanced imaging technologies for passenger screening and CT scanners for passenger baggage. Some of the less visible layers include federal air marshals deployed on certain flights, hardened airplane cockpit doors, and Secure Flight, which vets passengers prior to their flight. Risk-based security is the glue that ties all such layers together. It informs the use of security technologies and the creation of policies such that the air system can be maximally secured with minimal passenger inconvenience. Recall that after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, all passengers were treated the same from a security perspective. Such a one-size-fits-all approach was expensive and inconvenient to passengers, with little evidence that it made the air system more secure. It was also unsustainable. This led to the creation of TSA PreCheck, which gives passengers access to expedited screening lanes, where they can keep their shoes on when being screened and keep their electronic devices in their carry-on bag. TSA Precheck passengers have voluntarily gone through a background check — this is why they can be subjected to expedited, less intrusive physical screening at checkpoints. Allowing passengers with a REAL ID to keep their shoes on when being screened is, in and of itself, not bad. It is always easier to tighten security procedures than to relax them. In practice, passengers may discover that when wearing certain types of footwear, like work or hiking boots, choosing to remove them voluntarily may end up saving them time, since the full body screener may flag them for additional screening, which will then require the footwear to be removed anyway. What is next in airport security? Belts are likely on the docket for consideration, although the same delays may occur if the full body scanners flag certain belts for additional screening. The one that is on most people's minds is the liquid restriction. The United Kingdom relaxed its liquid policy at certain airports when it installed CT scanners for carry-on bags. The acting TSA administrator recently indicated that this policy would stay in place in the U.S. until around 2043, given the time needed to fully deploy CT scanners for carry-on bags at all U.S. airports. To confuse the issue further, the DHS secretary has now indicated that the liquid policy is up for discussion, provided the necessary guardrails remain in place to keep the system secure. Perhaps relaxing the liquid restriction for PreCheck passengers traveling from airports with CT scanners will be the next step forward. Most people would welcome this policy change. But what can be done to ensure that the system's security remains sufficiently robust? The answer is not promises from industry partners offering the newest and flashiest scanning technology to detect liquid explosives. It is, rather facial recognition. By requiring all passengers' identity to be authenticated using facial recognition, this layer will fill in holes left by relaxing some physical screening procedures. Facial recognition at airport security checkpoints has been a lightning rod of controversy for some time. A group of senators have called for it to be paused, based on concerns about personal privacy and civil liberties. The Travelers Privacy Protection Act of 2025 would give anyone the right to opt out of facial recognition being used to authenticate their identity. If such an act becomes law, it would set airport security back by a decade, by locking airport security into its threat item-centric paradigm, rather than focusing on threatening people, which is where the greatest risks reside. If the DHS intends to relax more of the security layers in place to protect the aviation system, ensuring that facial recognition continues to be a centerpiece of their strategy is critical. Putting a Senate-approved TSA administrator in place would also be important, to provide confidence that the collection of security layers being used is keeping the air system secure for all travelers. Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a computer science professor in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has researched risk-based aviation security for over 25 years, which provided the technical justification for TSA PreCheck.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
Real ID deadline is less than 2 weeks away. What to do if you don't have one
The final Real ID deadline is approaching on May 7, and while the country has been preparing for this change for nearly two decades, there are still plenty of Americans who don't have a Real ID yet. After the deadline, any American traveling by air over the age of 18 will be required to have a Real ID-compliant driver's license to get through a security checkpoint. Here is a guide to what you can do if you don't have a Real ID yet. If you don't yet have a Real ID, or yours simply hasn't arrived yet, TSA will be accepting other forms of identification at TSA checkpoints. Here is a list of the other accepted forms of ID, according to TSA's website: State-issued enhanced driver's license U.S. passport U.S. passport card DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST) U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents Permanent resident card Border crossing card An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs) HSPD-12 PIV card Foreign government-issued passport Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card Transportation worker identification credential U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766) U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) If you do not have a Real ID or another acceptable form of identification at a security checkpoint, you should 'expect to face delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint,' according to the TSA. According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, the Real ID requirements do not change your right to drive — it only applies to federal travel and building access. You can get a Real ID through your local Department of Motor Vehicles office. To receive a Real ID, you'll need, at minimum, proof of your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, address and lawful status, according to the DHS. The process may vary by state. For further instruction, visit your state's DMV website to find detailed instructions. Real IDs are only needed for travelers 18 years or older. The Real ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005 to improve security standards for license issuance, will take effect on May 7, according to the TSA. Two decades after its passage, the requirement is set to reshape domestic air travel. The law was set to take effect in 2020, but due to 'mountains of paperwork,' according to USA Today, the deadline was pushed back to May 2025. Talk of the Real ID has circulated for years, but the time to act has come. 'Identity verification is foundational to security,' said David Pekoske, the Transportation Security Administration's administrator, in a statement. 'I urge those who use a driver's license or state-issued identity card as their primary form of identification to access federal facilities or board commercial passenger aircraft, to ensure these credentials are REAL ID-compliant. We are committed to engaging with the public, licensing jurisdictions, and states to facilitate a smooth transition to REAL ID enforcement beginning May 7, 2025, which this rule supports.' According to Utah's Department of Public Safety, over 95% of Utahns are already Real ID compliant. To check your Utah Real ID status, look at your Utah driver's license or identification card. If it has a gold star in the upper right-hand corner, you're good to go.
Chicago Tribune
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Homeland Security ends TSA collective bargaining agreement, in effort to dismantle union protections
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it is ending the collective bargaining agreement with the tens of thousands of frontline employees at the Transportation Security Administration, marking a major effort to dismantle union protections under the Trump administration. The TSA union called it on 'unprovoked attack' and vowed to fight it. The department criticized the union whose staffers are responsible for keeping weapons off airplanes and protecting air travel. Offiicals said that poor performers were being allowed to stay on the job and that the agreement was hindering the ability of the organization 'to safeguard our transportation systems and keep Americans safe' — an assessment that faced immediate pushback from a top Democrat in Congress and the union. 'This action will ensure Americans will have a more effective and modernized workforces across the nation's transportation networks,' the agency said in a statement. The American Federation of Government Employees is the union representing the TSA workers. The federation and TSA's then-administrator, David Pekoske, signed the CBA in May. It came amid a push by Homeland Security to improve the pay of frontline workers, which has historically lagged behind other government employees. Pekoske credited the pay increases with improving employee retention and morale. The union said the order would strip collective bargaining rights from roughly 47,000 transportation security officers, or TSOs. Those are the people responsible for staffing airports and checking to make sure passengers do not have weapons or explosives. The decision comes at a time of increasing passenger travel — screeners see an average of 2.5 million passengers a day. The union said the department and the Trump administration were violating the right of staffers to join a union. It also said that the reasons the Republican administration had given for the decision — specifically the criticisms of union activity — were 'completely fabricated.' Instead, the union said, the decision was retaliation for the union's wider efforts challenging a range of Trump administration actions affecting federal workers. AFGE represents roughly 800,000 federal government employees, and it has been pushing back on many of the administration's actions such as firing probationary employees. 'Our union has been out in front challenging this administration's unlawful actions targeting federal workers, both in the legal courts and in the court of public opinion,' the union said. 'Now our TSA officers are paying the price with this clearly retaliatory action.' The Trump administration has been laying the groundwork to weaken or eliminate protections for federal workers as it moves swiftly to shrink the bureaucracy. Last week, the Office of Personnel Management sent a memo to department and agency heads demanding an accounting of time spent by employees in the last fiscal year on union matters such as contract negotiations and dispute resolutions. In its announcement Friday, the TSA said it found that nearly 200 employees were working on union matters full-time while collecting a government salary — claims disputed by the union. Under federal law, employees serving as union representatives are entitled to devote part of their work time to union matters in a manner that is 'reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest.' Trump implemented a similar reporting requirement during his first term, but it appears to have stopped during President Joe Biden's time in office. The Trump administration pushed out Pekoske the day Trump was sworn into office. The TSA does not currently have an administrator or a deputy administrator. In a note to staff, acting TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said Noem made the decision to rescind officers' collective bargaining rights to align with the Trump administration's 'vision of maximizing government productivity and efficiency and ensuring that our workforce can respond swiftly and effectively to evolving threats.' Stahl wrote that the decision would restore 'meritocracy to the workforce.' He said TSA will work up other procedures to address employee concerns and grievances 'in a fair and transparent manner.' The end of the collective bargaining agreement was immediately slammed by Democratic members of Congress as well as the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. The head of the flight attendants union, Sara Nelson, said in a statement that the decision was 'terrible for aviation security and everyone who depends on safe travel.' 'This will take us back to the days of security at the lowest price with the highest costs for our country,' she said. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, a Democrat of Mississippi, who is the ranking member of the House's Homeland Security Committee, said the decision makes 'zero sense' and would reduce morale. Thompson also criticized the Homeland Security press release, saying the department was using 'flat out wrong anti-union talking points.' He said the real aim was 'diminishing' the workforce so 'they can transform it in the mold of Project 2025.' Project 2025 was the conservative governing blueprint that Trump insisted during the 2024 campaign was not part of his agenda. It calls for immediately ending the TSA union and eventually privatizing the agency. Collective bargaining agreements between an employer and a union representing workers outlines the rights and benefits of employees such as their pay schedule and their ability to challenge demotions or terminations. This agreement was supposed to expire in 2031. Michael Fallings, who is a managing partner at Tully Rinckey where he practices federal employment and labor law, said there are generally guidelines within these agreements on how one party can leave. There would still be agency policies and directives that govern how employees are treated, Fallings said. But without an agreement workers would lose things like the right to have a union representative during a grievance and it would be easier for management to lay off staff. 'The contract guarantees certain rights,' said Fallings. 'So it has a big impact.' In guidance sent to the TSA workforce and obtained by The Associated Press, TSA management said that salary and benefits would not be affected but that union dues would no longer be collected through payroll. The guidance also said the decision to terminate the agreement would 'eliminate the undue influence of the American Federation of Government Employees' as well as streamline operations and enhance efficiency. The TSA was created after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when hijackers smuggled knives and box cutters through security to use as weapons as they commandeered four airplanes and slammed them into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center towers and a Pennsylvania field. The TSA's mandate was to prevent a similar attack in the future.
Los Angeles Times
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Homeland Security ends TSA collective bargaining agreement
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it is ending the collective bargaining agreement with the tens of thousands of frontline employees at the Transportation Security Administration, marking a major effort to dismantle union protections under the Trump administration. The TSA union called it an 'unprovoked attack' and vowed to fight it. The department, in a statement announcing the termination, criticized the union whose staffers are responsible for keeping weapons off airplanes and protecting air travel. The department said that poor performers were being allowed to stay on the job and that the agreement was hindering the ability of the organization 'to safeguard our transportation systems and keep Americans safe' — an assessment that faced immediate pushback from a top Democrat in Congress and the union. 'This action will ensure Americans will have a more effective and modernized workforces across the nation's transportation networks,' the agency said in a statement. 'TSA is renewing its commitment to providing a quick and secure travel process for Americans.' The American Federation of Government Employees is the union representing the TSA workers. The federation and the TSA's then-administrator, David Pekoske, signed the collective bargaining agreement in May of last year. It came amid a push by Homeland Security to improve the pay for the frontline workers, whose pay has historically lagged behind that of other government employees. Pekoske has credited the pay increases, which went into effect in 2023, with helping improve employee retention and morale, areas where TSA has had challenges. The union said in a statement that the order would strip collective bargaining rights from roughly 47,000 transportation security officers, or TSOs. Those are people responsible for staffing airports around the country and checking to make sure that hundreds of thousands of passengers a day do not carry any weapons or explosives into the secure areas of airports. The union said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and President Trump's administration were violating the right of staffers to join a union. It also said that the reasons the Republican administration had given for the decision — specifically the criticisms of union activity — were 'completely fabricated.' Instead, the union said, the decision was retaliation for its wider efforts challenging a range of decisions taken by the Trump administration that have affected federal workers. AFGE represents roughly 800,000 federal government workers in Washington, D.C., and across the country, and it has been pushing back on many of the administration's actions, such as firing probationary employees and cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. 'Our union has been out in front challenging this administration's unlawful actions targeting federal workers, both in the legal courts and in the court of public opinion,' the union said. 'Now our TSA officers are paying the price with this clearly retaliatory action.' The decision to end the collective bargaining agreement comes after the Trump administration pushed out Pekoske the day Trump was sworn into office. The TSA does not currently have an administrator or a deputy administrator. In a note to staff, acting TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said Noem made the decision to rescind officers' collective bargaining rights to align with the Trump administration's 'vision of maximizing government productivity and efficiency and ensuring that our workforce can respond swiftly and effectively to evolving threats.' 'By removing the constraints of collective bargaining, TSOs will be able to operate with greater flexibility and responsiveness, ensuring the highest level of security and efficiency in protecting the American public,' Stahl wrote. 'This determination is made with the TSO in mind, ensuring employee inclusivity and restoring meritocracy to the workforce.' Stahl said the agency 'will establish alternative procedures' to address employee concerns and grievances 'in a fair and transparent manner.' The end of the collective bargaining agreement was immediately slammed by the top Democrat on the Homeland Security committee in Congress, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, who praised the work of TSA staffers in protecting air travel. 'Attempting to negate their legally binding collective bargaining agreement now makes zero sense — it will only reduce morale and hamper the workforce,' Thompson said. 'Since the Biden administration provided pay increases and a new collective bargaining contract to the workforce, TSA's attrition rates have plummeted.' Thompson also criticized the Homeland Security press release, saying the department was using 'flat-out wrong anti-union talking points.' He said the real aim was 'diminishing' the workforce so 'they can transform it in the mold of Project 2025.' Project 2025 was the conservative governing blueprint that Trump insisted during the 2024 campaign was not part of his agenda. Project 2025 calls for immediately ending the TSA union and eventually privatizing the entire agency. The TSA was created after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when hijackers smuggled knives and box cutters through security to use as weapons as they commandeered four airplanes and slammed them into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center towers in New York and a Pennsylvania field. The TSA's mandate when it was created in November 2001 was to prevent a similar attack in the future. Air travel since then has undergone a massive overhaul, with passengers and their luggage going through extensive screening at the airport and passenger information generally uploaded to TSA in advance of travel to facilitate screening. Increasingly, the agency has also been using facial recognition technology to scan passengers at checkpoints, leading to criticism by some members of Congress. Santana writes for the Associated Press. AP reporter Michael Sisak in New York contributed to this report.
CBS News
07-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Homeland Security ends collective bargaining agreement with TSA employees
The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it is ending the collective bargaining agreement with the union representing thousands of frontline workers with the Transportation Security Administration, a decision the TSA union called an "unprovoked attack." In announcing the decision, DHS criticized the union — which represents worker responsible for screening airline passengers — claiming TSA employs more people working full-time on union issues than those "performing screening functions at 86% of our airports." "This action will ensure Americans will have more effective and modernized workforces across the nation's transportation networks," Homeland Security said in a statement. "TSA is renewing its commitment to providing a quick and secure travel process for Americans." The decision to end collective bargaining was criticized by the Association of Flight Attendants, a union representing flight attendants, and Democratic lawmakers, with both claiming that the action will make flying less safe. DHS's decision comes after the agency last year pushed to boost TSA workers' pay, which has historically lagged that of other government employees. In May 2024, the TSA administrator at the time, David Pekoske, signed the collective bargaining agreement and credited pay increases that went into effect in 2023 for helping to improve employee retention and morale, areas where TSA has had challenges. "Attempting to negate [TSA workers'] legally binding collective bargaining agreement now makes zero sense – it will only reduce morale and hamper the workforce," said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, in a statement on Friday. In the announcement, DHS said poor performers were being allowed to stay on the job and that the agreement was hindering the ability of the organization "to safeguard our transportation systems and keep Americans safe" — an assessment that faced immediate pushback from Thompson and the union. The decision is "terrible for aviation security and everyone who depends on safe travel," the Association of Flight Attendants said. The group added, "This will take us back to the days of security at the lowest price with the highest costs for our country." Impact on 47,000 TSA workers The American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing the TSA workers, said in a statement that the order would strip collective bargaining rights from roughly 47,000 transportation security officers, or TSOs. Those are people responsible for staffing airports around the country and checking to make sure that hundreds of thousands of passengers a day do not carry any weapons or explosives into the secure areas of airports. The union said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump's administration were violating the right of staffers to join a union. It also said that the reasons the Republican administration had given for the decision — specifically the criticisms of union activity — were "completely fabricated." Instead, the union said, the decision was retaliation for its wider efforts challenging a range of decisions taken by the Trump administration that have affected federal workers. AFGE represents roughly 800,000 federal government workers in Washington, D.C., and across the country, and it has been pushing back on many of the administration's actions such as firing probationary employees and cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. "Our union has been out in front challenging this administration's unlawful actions targeting federal workers, both in the legal courts and in the court of public opinion," the union said. "Now our TSA officers are paying the price with this clearly retaliatory action." The decision to end the collective bargaining agreement comes after Trump's administration pushed out Pekoske the day Trump was sworn into office. The TSA does not currently have an administrator or a deputy administrator. In a note to staff, acting TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said Noem made the decision to rescind officers' collective bargaining rights to align with the Trump administration's "vision of maximizing government productivity and efficiency and ensuring that our workforce can respond swiftly and effectively to evolving threats." "By removing the constraints of collective bargaining, TSOs will be able to operate with greater flexibility and responsiveness, ensuring the highest level of security and efficiency in protecting the American public," Stahl wrote. "This determination is made with the TSO in mind, ensuring employee inclusivity and restoring meritocracy to the workforce." Stahl said the agency "will establish alternative procedures" to address employee concerns and grievances "in a fair and transparent manner." "Anti-union talking points" Rep. Thompson criticized the Homeland Security press release, saying the department was using "flat out wrong anti-union talking points." He said the real aim was "diminishing" the workforce so "they can transform it in the mold of Project 2025." "Attempting to negate their legally binding collective bargaining agreement now makes zero sense — it will only reduce morale and hamper the workforce," Thompson said. "Since the Biden Administration provided pay increases and a new collective bargaining contract to the workforce, TSA's attrition rates have plummeted." Project 2025 was the conservative governing blueprint that Trump insisted during the 2024 campaign was not part of his agenda. Project 2025 calls for immediately ending the TSA union and eventually privatizing the entire agency. The TSA was created after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when hijackers smuggled knives and box cutters through security to use as weapons as they commandeered four airplanes and slammed them into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center towers and a Pennsylvania field. The TSA's mandate when it was created in November 2001 was to prevent a similar attack in the future. Air travel since then has undergone a massive overhaul, with passengers and their luggage going through extensive screening at the airport and passenger information generally uploaded to TSA in advance of travel to facilitate screening. Increasingly, the agency has also been using facial recognition technology to scan passengers at checkpoints, leading to criticism by some members of Congress.
