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By RS Insider Posted in Collective Bargaining | Congress | TSA — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

This afternoon the Senate will vote on Jim DeMint’s amendment to the 9/11 bill. DeMint’s amendment would strike a provision in the bill allowing TSA airport screeners to unionize. A competing amendment offered by Democrat Claire McCaskill guts the DeMint amendment.

Why is DeMint’s amendment crucial?

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board explains (subscriber link):

Read on . . .

Screeners need to adapt to changing threats, often with random and unpredictable methods. Union rules would require negotiating over these methods with labor chiefs at each work site, meaning at every airport. By TSA's estimate, union rules would also require pulling some 8% of the work force offline to meet new management demands. This would require either closing screening lanes or adding thousands of new screeners at more cost to taxpayers.

Imagine having to negotiate with labor unions in the midst of another 9/11!

The back-story here of course is that Democrats feel the need to pay back Big Labor for their role in the 2006 elections. Last year Big Labor contributed $65 million to congressional candidates with 87 percent of that money going to Democrats.

Do no Democrats see the irony here? This kickback to Big Labor comes on the 9/11 bill, a bill that is supposed to make us safer. But if DeMint’s amendment is not passed and Democrats get their way, the bill would make us less safe.

Jim DeMint summarizes the situation succinctly, “The DeMint amendment protects American security, the McCaskill amendment protects unions.”