The airport screeners of the Transportation Security Administration have chosen the American Federation of Government Employees as their official union. The AFGE is under the AFL-CIO and will now represent over 40,000 workers.

AFGE beat out the National Treasury Employees Union just barely in a runoff vote. Screeners now have limited collective bargaining rights, with pay and security issues being the two exceptions. Workers are also banned from striking.

TSA screeners made plans to join a union months ago after the Obama administration granted they could do so.  A first vote between the AFGE and NTEU was held in
April, but neither achieved a decisive majority.