The best of both worlds of big government merged on Thursday: The Transportation Security Administration agreed to allow the American Federation of Government Employees to unionize its workforce.

In a press release, AFGE announced that the labor contract it agreed to with TSA on Thursday is the first-ever with TSA employees.

“For 10 long years AFGE has fought hard so that Transportation Security Officers would have collective bargaining rights,” AFGE National President John Gage said in a statement. “We have often looked back and wondered why it was taking so long. Today we begin to look forward.”

“This collective bargaining agreement will better the working lives of 45,000 hard-working, dedicated employees, and that’s a fantastic feeling,” AFGE TSA Council 100 President Kim Kraynak-Lambert added.

“TSOs come to work every day in the face of intense public and congressional scrutiny and, to the best of their ability, protect this nation from terrorist attacks,” she said. “Now we can look forward to new rights and new working conditions, and a chance to form a true labor-management partnership. And, contrary to some of the misinformation circulating about TSA, an agreement will not adversely affect security – security related matters were strictly excluded from negotiations. In fact, this agreement will strengthen our ability to carry out TSA’s vital mission of protecting the American people.”

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