By Doug Cunningham

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. says the Bush administration’s efforts to gut collective bargaining at the Department of Homeland Security are illegal. National Treasury Employee Union President Colleen Kelley says it’s a big win for workers and their unions.

[Colleen Kelley 1]: “We won a sweeping legal victory for all DHS employees. What the court declared was that the labor relations portion of the Homeland Security’s regressive personnel system are illegal and they cannot be implemented.”

Kelley says the court was very clear that these Bush administration personnel system changes at the Department of Homeland Security are illegal attacks on collective bargaining rights.

By Doug Cunningham

Unions representing Homeland Security workers were in federal court Thursday continuing a fight to preserve true collective bargaining as the government tries to impose a new personnel system. NTEU’s Greg O’Duden.

[Greg O’Duden]: “What they came up with, particularly with respect to collective bargaining, is a blatantly one-sided system that reserves for the agency really total authority regarding the setting of conditions of employment. And that of course is totally antithetical to the whole idea of collective bargaining."

Unions say the new personnel system guts collective bargaining rights.

The Department of Homeland Security is asking a US District Court judge to narrow her ruling that prevents proposed personnel rules from being implemented. The rules have been opposed by unions representing nearly 60,000 DHS employees and were declared a violation of employee rights by Judge Rosemary M. Collyer. They would create an internal labor relations panel appointed by the DHS secretary and install a merit-based pay system. Department managers would also have increased authority over shift and duty changes.

By Doug Cunningham

Thousands of Department of Homeland Security workers recently won an important court victory that protects collective bargaining rights and prevents the department from implementing new personnel rules. The National treasury Employees Union's Colleen Kelly says if the Bush administration continues to attack worker's bargaining rights the NTEU will continue to fight, including going back to court if necessary…

[Colleen Kelly] : "If we believe that the statute - the Homeland Security Act - is not being followed, that the administration is continuing to overstep its bounds of the authority given to it by Congress, then yes NTEU will be fighting. We will use every tool available that we have to us to insure that the department does the right thing - both for the department and for employees."

By Doug Cunningham

Five unions representing federal workers at the Department of Homeland Security were in federal court in Washington Thursday seeking an injunction stopping new personnel rules from taking effect August first. The unions want the injunction until their lawsuit against the changes is decided. Greg O'Doudin (O-dooden), general counsel for the National treasury Employees Union, says Congress decided these workers should have labor rights but the Bush administration is using national security issues to strip them away.

[Greg O'Doudin] : "Including the right to engage collective bargaining.

The New York Times has shined a national spotlight on a possible case of racial profiling and workplace discrimination. Two Shiite Muslims, Aliakbar Afshari and Shahla Afshari were fired for national security reasons that remain secret.

The Afshari's moved to the US from Iran 18 years ago and both were employees of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a federal agency that studies workplace hazards.

Allan Karlin is the lawyer representing Mr. and Mrs. Afshari.

[Karlin1] "Suddenly one day earlier this year they were called in and fired. Told only that they had failed a background check that they didn't even know they were being checked out on."

A survey released August 23rd reveals most United States Border Patrol agents and Customs inspectors do not believe they have the tools to fight terrorism. The American Federation of Government Employees, reported that although 91 percent of workers surveyed said stopping terrorists from entering the country is a "very important" aspect of their job, 64 percent say they haven’t been given the "tools, training and support" needed to do that job. Charles Showlater, President of the National Homeland Security Council said that the concerns of the survey have been brought to the Homeland Security Department, but often it seems the department is more concerned with the appearance of employees and not their ability to do an efficient job:

New rules proposed by the Department of Homeland Security could make it harder for internal critics of the Border Patrol to be vocal. Officials of the National Border Patrol Council say that the new laws make it easier for management to punish or fire employees that criticize policies. The proposed regulations allow the expediated termination of employees for national security reasons by allowing for mandatory firing offenses and elimination of arbitration.

The Federal Transit Administration sent images of explosions and chemical attacks to workers’ homes in the form of a DVD. The 15-minute video, titled "Warning Signs", depicts theoretical attacks during this year's Republican National Convention.These graphic images unnerved New Jersey Transit conductors who feel they are being asked to play a law enforcement role they never signed up for. Xavier D. Williams, General Chairman of United Transportation Union Local 60’s 1,030 active members, said he was disappointed with New Jersey Transit’s failing to relay security plans for the convention to workers. 280 New Jersey Transit trains carry approximately 60,000 weekday rail riders into New York daily.