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Local TSA Officers hold rally to end long lines and to get more staff

Posted at 7:22 PM, Jun 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-30 17:00:33-04
ARLINGTON, VA - MAY 27: Passengers queue up outside a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Ronald Reagan National Airport May 27, 2016 in Arlington, VA. According to AAA, "more than 38 million Americans will travel this Memorial Day weekend. That is the second-highest Memorial Day travel volume on record and the most since 2005. Spurred by the lowest gas prices in more than a decade, about 700,000 more people will travel compared to last year." (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

NORFOLK, Va. - Transportation Security Officers at Norfolk International Airport will hold an informational picket on Thursday.

The TSA Officers are members of the American Federation of Government Employees and they aim to demand more funding to hire additional officers, and for better workplace protections to retain current officers.

TSA Officers are amplifying the union's call for Congress to provide emergency funding for the hiring of 6,000 additional officers.

They say growing the TSA workforce would help end the long wait times at airports nationwide.

The union is also bringing attention to, what they say, are unfair workplace practices, low pay, and low morale.

“TSA Officers serve passengers from all walks of life and every corner of the world,” said AFGE Local 448 President Scott Robinson. “We deserve to be recognized as the professional and dedicated officers we are and have the same workplace rights as our fellow Department of Homeland Security colleagues.”