WASHINGTON — The largest union of government employees is calling on Congress to question the TSA administrator about reports of bullying and retaliation at Orlando International Airport, which were brought to light by a Spectrum News Watchdog Investigation.

The American Federation of Government Employees's TSA Council had hoped the issue would come up during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday. The specific incident did not come up in the hearing, where TSA Administrator David Pekoske answered questions from members about the proposed budget for the agency.

“The threat environment facing the nation’s transportation system is active and constantly evolving," said committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D). "Yet the administration’s budget fails to address major staffing and morale challenges facing TSA’s frontline security workforce.”   

Calls to address the issue from the union has now caught the attention of Florida lawmakers.

"The next step is oversight, whether it’s through committee hearings or letters," U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, whose 9th District includes parts of Central Florida, said in Washington. "I am ... asking the TSA to respond more thoroughly to some of these allegations that have come to light, so we will certainly be pursuing that."

In February, TSA worker Robert Henry jumped to his death from a hotel balcony inside Orlando International Airport. In the early stages of the investigation into his suicide, it was thought that stress from being on furlough during the partial government shutdown led to his death.

But almost two dozen Orlando TSA workers told Spectrum News 13 that there's a pervasive culture of bullying and retaliation among TSA workers at the airport. 

"It is never OK for an employee to be bullied at work. To hear that bullying may have contributed to this TSA officer's tragic and untimely death shows a failure of leadership at TSA,” AFGE TSA Council President Hydrick Thomas said. "TSA must take action to address the culture of bullying that has taken root at Orlando International Airport."

A toxic environment

Deborah Hanna, the president of the union for TSA employees at Orlando International Airport, said Tuesday it's time for Congress to ask the questions she already knows most of the answers to.

"People have been complaining for years about a toxic environment," said Hanna, who heads AFGE Local 556. "Our union is trying to push it up to the top, and they obviously have gotten it up there. We need answers."

According to Hanna, in the past year, MCO employees alone have filed at least 25 Equal Employment Opportunity complaints about bullying or retaliation. 

On Tuesday, she met with Pete Garcia, the interim Federal Security Director of TSA at MCO. Her hope is that he can bring needed change to the workplace.

"We need somebody to step in, and I think that the more people that are involved right now will help," Hanna said.

She said her main goal for current and future TSA employees at MCO is change.

"(I hope) that it won’t be such a toxic environment. That it will be a good place to come to work. That people will want to come to work, not get in here as a federal employee and get out right away."

Hanna also told Spectrum News 13 that since the Watchdog Investigation published Friday, more people are coming forward to speak with her and file complaints — something she hopes more people will not be afraid to do moving forward.

Bipartisan focus on issue

"There’s no question that right now, unfortunately TSA is underfunded and TSA officers are both underpaid and overworked and understaffed," Soto said. "While we’ve had some improvements in the staffing and even the configuration of the security line at Orlando International Airport, there's still work that needs to be done.

"Certainly the culture of bullying, of name-calling, coupled with issues of the shutdown and attempts at privatization, all created this backdrop for Mr. Henry to get in this state of mind, and certainly, he had other factors that were going into... these are complex issues. But this confirms our worst fears," Soto said.

Florida Senator Rick Scott also expressed his commitment to getting to the bottom of the alleged mismanagement and conduct.

“I am going to do everything I can to get people to work together. But you hate that this would happen to this individual," Scott said.

Watch Rep. Darren Soto's full remarks on Spectrum News' Watchdog Investigation below: