At U.S. airports, poverty wages don’t fly
Baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants, cabin and terminal cleaners, customer service attendants and security officers are coming together to improve conditions at major origin and destination airports throughout the United States. All of these workers contribute to their communities by keeping our airports safe, secure and stable for passengers and fellow workers alike. Their simple message—poverty wages don’t fly—is resonating with the public in a country where 42 percent of hardworking people are paid less than $15 an hour.
By uniting around their common goals and with the support of their communities, these men and women have been pushing for $15 an hour and union rights and their efforts are paying off. Today, more than 45,000 airport employees have already won job improvements by speaking with one voice. More positive changes continue to happen despite challenges posed by profitable corporations that attempt to restrain these workers.
In Seattle, personnel at the Sea-Tac International Airport recently scored a major victory when the Washington Supreme Court ruled that a $15 an hour worker-led ballot initiative applies to these workers too. As a result, more than 4,700 workers will see their hourly wages raised to $15.24. In Philadelphia, workers recently won a labor peace agreement and then stood with voters to pass a ballot initiative raising wages to $12 an hour. At Boston Logan Airport, employees won a $10 wage floor policy. In Portland, Ore., workers won retention policies to protect their jobs. In New York and New Jersey, airport staff won wage increases and also secured Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday. In Minneapolis, in addition to winning wage increases to $10 along with groundbreaking paid sick leave, Ibrahim Mohammed, a Somali-American who handles baggage, was appointed by the governor of Minnesota to the Metropolitan Airport Commission.
All of these victories came after months of coordinated actions including strikes and rallies to demand $15 an hour and union rights to end poverty wages and improve working conditions at airport terminals across the United States.
Many airlines and subcontractors are global companies, therefore these U.S. workers are engaging their counterparts in Europe and around the globe to hold those companies accountable wherever they operate.
For more information about the airport workers’ Fight for $15 and union rights, find us online at facebook.com/AirportWorkersUnited and @GoodAirports on Twitter.