TSA workers closely watching possibility of privatizing screenings at Atlanta airport
A former Transportation Security Administration officer with ties to current Atlanta TSA workers said many workers are concerned about losing federal benefits and long-term job security after Atlanta leaders approved a plan to study privatized passenger screening at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Earlier this week, the Atlanta City Council approved a resolution requesting a feasibility study into whether the city's airport should move to a privatized screening model under TSA's Screening Partnership Program.
The proposal comes after long TSA lines during recent federal shutdowns created major disruptions for travelers in Atlanta.
Councilman Antonio Lewis, who supports the study, said the issue gained urgency after travelers faced hours-long waits during the shutdown-related staffing shortages.
"With the last government shutdown… we at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport had lines for hours," Lewis said.
Under the proposal, private screeners would still operate under TSA oversight and follow federal TSA security standards. Similar programs already operate at about 20 airports across the country, including San Francisco International Airport.
CBS News transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave said airports across the country are now reevaluating how shutdowns impact airport operations and travelers.
"You can't ask people to go to work for weeks on end without pay," Van Cleave said. "And fliers shouldn't go to the airport and play shutdown roulette."
If Atlanta eventually moves forward with the idea, Hartsfield-Jackson would become the largest airport in the country using privatized passenger screening.
Former TSA officer Caleb Harmon Marshall, who said he remains in contact with current TSA officers in Atlanta, told CBS News Atlanta that many workers are opposed to privatization.
"I feel like in the recent years, they've (TSA workers) been going through so much, and it's just to a point where they don't want to work this job anymore," Harmon Marshall said. "It's not secure, and especially hearing that this could be potentially happening and come in and take their jobs right from under them."
He said many TSA officers want to remain federal employees under the Department of Homeland Security.
Lewis said one goal would be to allow current TSA employees the opportunity to continue working at the airport if privatized screening were ever implemented.
Right now, the proposal only calls for a feasibility study. City leaders said they want the study completed within 90 days to determine whether privatized screening could realistically work at Hartsfield-Jackson.
CBS News Atlanta reached out to TSA and the TSA union for comment on the proposal, but had not heard back as of Tuesday evening.