Overview
- The agency confirmed Tuesday that chairs are being removed from Travel Document Checker (TDC) podiums nationwide and that officers must stand while verifying IDs at the entrance to screening lanes.
- The American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100 says the change was implemented without formal union notice and called the move a disregard for worker safety and basic ergonomic support.
- TSA framed the policy as a security and hospitality measure tied to fitness-for-duty standards, while employees note that officers rotate through assignments and seating remains at some other checkpoint posts.
- The shift raises unresolved questions about the TSA collective bargaining agreement, workplace ergonomics, anti-fatigue provisions and how the agency will grant medical accommodations for workers who cannot stand for long periods.
- The change comes after David Cummins’s recent Senate confirmation and the launch of Horizon 25, and lawmakers and the union say they will press for answers as chair removals continue and formal grievances or congressional inquiries proceed.