Judge temporarily blocks DHS from ending TSA workers' union deal

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending a union deal with Transportation Safety Administration workers.

The American Federation of Government Employees argued in its lawsuit that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem doesn't have the power to end a seven-year contract that is already authorized, accusing her of targeting the union after it filed multiple lawsuits on behalf of government workers, The Hill news outlet reported.

Clinton-appointed Judge Marsha Pechman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled on Monday, granting a preliminary injunction barring Noem's halt of the deal.

"AFGE has demonstrated a strong likelihood that the Noem Determination constitutes impermissible retaliation against it for its unwillingness to acquiesce to the Trump Administration’s assault on federal workers," Pechman wrote in her ruling. 

The collective bargaining agreement covers about 47,000 Transportation Security Officers.

“Today's court decision is a crucial victory for federal workers and the rule of law,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement on Monday. “The preliminary injunction underscores the unconstitutional nature of DHS’s attack on TSA officers’ first amendment rights."

Noem made the announcement ending the union deal in March, claiming that TSA workers “will no longer lose their hard-earned dollars to a union that does not represent them.”