FederalDaily - July 3, 2006

TSA Security Screeners Can Be Unionized

Airline security screeners employed by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) contractors may be subjected to forced unionization, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ruled. The National Right to Work Foundation filed an amicus curiae brief with NLRB to unionize screeners employed by private firms working under the direction of the TSA, a press release from the foundation said. TSA and the Bush Administration argued that union officials could not have “monopoly bargaining privileges” over TSA screeners due to national security concerns. The foundation argued, and the board agreed, that TSA failed to justify the anti-union policy.

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DHS Awards IT Contracts

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced 25 contract awards this past Thursday to provide information technology (IT) support for the Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions (EAGLE) program. EAGLE, according to a DHS press release, will provide department-wide IT acquisition services including:

• software design;
• infrastructure engineering design, development, implementation, and integration; and
• independent test, validation, verification.

Scott Charbo, chief information officer for DHS, said, “Partnering with these companies better positions us to focus on leveraging like services, improving spend management, and better managing IT contracting as a whole.” DHS plans to announce additional contract awards in July as part of the small-business set-aside plan.

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Lawmakers React To VA Laptop Find

Lawmakers expressed relief yesterday after the FBI announced the recovery of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) laptop stolen in May that contained personal information on more than 26 million veterans and their families. "This is good news for the millions of Americans who have lived in fear for almost two months,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. But Murray and other lawmakers noted that, while out of the government’s possession, the data might have been abused. “I am glad that law enforcement has recovered the personal information, but we can’t assume that our veterans’ identities are safe,” Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said. Byrd is backing the Military Privacy Protection bill, which would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to set up a permanent expert hotline to advise victims of the theft.

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Think Tank Report Calls For Revamp At DHS

A report just released by the nonprofit Century Foundation argues that the recent tug-of-war between New York, Washington and other cities over federal homeland security dollars reflects the smallest of many challenges the federal government confronts in preventing successful terrorist attacks. The key problem is not funding, but function, especially at the troubled Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and in the intelligence agencies. “The federal government must perform better than it does today, including border and port security, aviation security, national-level intelligence, and catastrophic event response,” the report concludes. The report calls on all levels of government to focus more planning and resources on protecting private-sector assets. “Government must increase security and reduce risk at privately owned facilities, attacks against which could create mass casualties or disrupt the operation of the economy,” the report said. For more, go to www.tcf.org.

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