Oakland airport screener, fired for union activity, can sue government

[Omaha Steve]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(09-05) 15:26 PDT SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court reinstated a lawsuit today by a former baggage screener at Oakland International Airport who said he had been fired for union organizing in an agency that has abolished collective bargaining for its employees.

Workers and their unions have a right to sue for violation of their constitutional rights, including the rights of free speech and association, despite a post-Sept. 11 law giving the government broad power to hire and fire airport screeners, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The ruling revived a suit by John Gavello and the American Federation of Government Employees, who said their rights had been violated by the Transportation Security Administration's disciplinary actions against Gavello. The suit seeks his reinstatement, with back pay, and an order prohibiting retaliation for union activity.

The Transportation Security Administration, part of the Homeland Security Department, was created by a law in late 2001 that made all 56,000 airport baggage screeners federal employees. The agency outlawed collective bargaining by the screeners in January 2003, saying unions could interfere with the flexibility needed to respond rapidly to terrorist threats.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/05/BA8ORVMES.DTL