The union aiming to represent Transportation Security Administration officers is urging airline passengers to respect and appreciate the work they do, in a holiday travel campaign that launched Thursday.
The campaign includes an ad in Thursday's edition of USA Today, featuring an open letter to the public by Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union.
"Whatever your personal feelings about the enhanced security measures that TSA has recently implemented, I would ask that as you travel during this holiday season, you keep in mind that ... frontline TSA officers did not create the new policies," Kelley wrote in the open letter.
The union is also emailing frequent flyers, writing letters to the editor to several newspapers and spreading its message on Facebook.
Earlier this month, the Federal Labor Relations Authority supported an election for union representation among TSA employees.
Kelley said that the National Treasury Employees Union expects TSA employees to vote for union representation, and that the union subsequently will work to secure collective-bargaining rights for TSA employees.