TSA labor union sues agency regarding FOIA delay, Gold+ initiative
The Transportation Security Administration’s plan to privatize security screening technology is the subject of a lawsuit filed this week by the American Federation of Government Employees.
The labor union represents 47,000 Transportation Security Officers across 400 airports. In its lawsuit, the group alleges that TSA hid plans to put private contractors in charge of screening services and the related technology, including at checkpoints and baggage scans.
“TSA has been keeping everyone in the dark about its privatization plans — TSA employees, members of Congress, airport authorities, and the flying public,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said Wednesday in a press release. “And it’s little wonder why — this privatization expansion is a major departure from the aviation security system established by Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Changes of this magnitude must not be made in the dark.”
AFGE said it had not received formal notice of the Gold+ initiative until after it filed a FOIA request in May. To no avail, the group said it sought out documents and records pertaining to the purpose, approval and implementation of the initiative.
“Congress passed FOIA precisely to thwart this kind of two-faced agency management,” Kevin Bell of the Free Information Group, representing AFGE in its lawsuit, said in a statement. “AFGE’s members and the public have a right to everything TSA has spent months lavishing its vendors with about lucrative contracts while keeping its sworn officers in the dark.”
The group’s filing comes as airports are beginning to jump on board the initiative, which is described by TSA as a voluntary program aimed at modernizing aviation security via public-private partnerships. TSA did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
Funding for the initiative is a bit murky. The agency is looking to circumvent “lengthy federal budget cycles” by leaning on private-sector investment, per a government-run website dedicated to the effort.
In a question-and-answer document, however, TSA said it had a planned ceiling of $12.9 billion for a 10-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for the initiative.
TSA held an Industry Day event for the initiative in May. Palantir, AWS, and Leidos were among the attendees, along with many other familiar faces in government contracting, per a list posted to Sam.gov in June.
While no awards have been made public yet, that could soon change. The agency is expecting the award process to begin in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, according to acquisition planning documents.
Federal News Network first reported on the Gold+ initiative in April.
