The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents around 600,000 federal employees filed a petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority on Monday. The petition would allow them to hold an election that would let them represent the 40,000 TSA agents around the country. The president of the AFGE, John Gage said that he would have preferred to wait until the agents had collective bargaining rights, but that the lack of an appointment by the president as TSA administrator has changed that plan. AFGE is seeking exclusive representation of TSA agents, but faces a challenge from the National Treasury Employees Union who has signed up some workers.
See "Labor pushes to unionize Transportation Security Administration", James Hohmann, Politico, February 23, 2010