TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Florida state Representative Bill Heller, Tampa Councilwoman Gwen Miller, various community leaders and activists, and labor union representatives will show their support for Transportation Security Administration Officers (TSOs) by signing a statement of solidarity at an event December 16 at Tampa International Airport.

The statements are being signed in conjunction with AFGE and the AFL-CIO's National TSO Solidarity Week, with events being held in more than 30 cities nationwide. The statement reads, in part, "[TSOs] are the front line of homeland security. Just as you work hard every day to protect us, and everyone who utilizes our nation's airlines, we will support you in your struggle for justice on the job."

In stark contrast to other employees at the Department of Homeland Security, and most other federal employees, TSOs are denied the basic workplace rights they so rightly deserve. AFGE has worked for eight years to have these rights restored.

"We applaud [AFGE], which has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with you since TSA was created, defending your rights on the job and fighting to improve working conditions," the solidarity statement reads.

The Tampa event was coordinated by the Airport Solidarity Committee of the West Central Florida Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. For more information, call Aaron Wazlavek at (202) 570-6793.

Who: American Federation of Government Employees Local 556

Bill Heller, Florida Representative, D-D52

Gwen Miller, Tampa Councilwoman, D1

John Dingfelder, Tampa Councilman, D4 (invited)

Mary Mulhern, Tampa Councilwoman, D2 (invited)

Digna Alvarez, Regional Director, United States Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. (invited)

West Central Florida Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Local labor leaders from American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Communications Workers of America (CWA), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)

What: Will show support for collective bargaining rights at the Transportation Security Administration, and for the efforts by the American Federation of Government Employees, the union for TSA workers across the country

Where: Tampa International Airport, Conference Room B (across the street from main terminal, 2nd level, red side)

When: Wednesday, Dec. 16; 10 a.m.

AFGE is the largest federal employee union representing 600,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia, including tens of thousands of DHS employees in Border Patrol, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Protective Service, FEMA, Coast Guard and TSA.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

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