Security screeners at San Francisco International Airport plan to rally on Thursday, demanding millions of dollars' worth of backpay.
Thursday's rally follows the implementation of a pay equity policy that brought up salaries for screeners back in July of last year.
According to the TSA, since its inception, the workforce has been paid at a lower rate than the rest of the federal government.
The new transportation security compensation plan changed last year, but security screeners at SFO said they haven’t seen that pay raise reflected on their checks.
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Those security screeners recently filed a complaint with the department of labor.
If the labor department rules in their favor, that could mean millions in backpay, possibly over $4 million worth. That amount is what the union that represents SFO screeners claims their employer, Covenant Aviation, owes them.
Covenant Aviation is contracted by TSA to provide security screening at SFO.
"Covenant denies our pay raise and owes us that money," SFO security scanner Yonis Hernandez said. "I’m a father of two girls and I work almost every day for 10-hour shifts or more depending on the day. It’s difficult to get by due to how expensive the Bay Area is. I have seen other screeners and senior screeners who have built TSA since 9/11 at SFO and I have seen them go to San Jose or Oakland just to get by."
Sanjay Garla with Service Employees International Union said "it’s an easy problem to fix."
"All we would have to do is get in the room with Covenant, with the TSA, and get this thing done," he said.
NBC Bay Area reached out to TSA and Covenant Aviation but did not immediately hear back.
