Airport Support Workers Will Protest at 14 US Travel Hubs This Week

Service workers across 14 major U.S. travel hubs are planning to hold rallies tomorrow to shine a light on what they describe as American Airlines’ failure to ensure fair wages and affordable benefits.

The rallies are expected to take place at airports in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, and Tampa, according to a press release issued today by the Service Employees International Union.

The airport service workers, who are employed by American Airlines’ contractors,  say “American Airlines has failed workers and passengers alike by adding to a travel crisis and exacerbating staffing shortages nationwide.”

“We’re the ones who help make it possible for people to see their loved ones, go on a summer vacation or travel for business. Without us, the planes can’t take off. Yet the airlines and their contractors treat us like we’re disposable,” Peyton Abrams, an unaccompanied minor escort, who services American Airlines in Dallas, said in a statement issued by the labor organization.

Abrams added that airport service workers struggle “to put food on the table without healthcare or paid time off.”

“It’s time for American Airlines to clean up the mess they’ve created. That starts by paying fair wages and benefits,” said Abrams.

American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stagnant Wages, No Healthcare or Paid Time Off

Airport service workers help with everything from getting planes off the ground safely to transporting travelers from the airport curb to plane cabins. And while wages and benefits for these workers vary from airport to airport, the labor organization says that in general, wages have not changed in two decades. In addition, the labor organization says the workers are often not provided with paid time off or healthcare.

The rallies designed to highlight these issues are expected to also include support from pilots, flight attendants, members of Communications Workers of America (CWA), UNITE HERE, and others in the airport industry, the organization said. The service workers said they also expect to be joined by community leaders, supporters, and elected officials during the upcoming rallies.

The labor actions come on the heels of two weeks of worker action at airports elsewhere in the nation. About one week ago, thousands of airport workers at Boston Logan, New York LaGuardia, and Washington Dulles airports struck Swissport USA and Swissport Cargo to protest various unfair labor practices, including what the organization called "retaliation and intimidation" against workers for speaking out about conditions on the job.

Around the same time, workers across Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Newark sought to raise attention about what they called “unsafe working conditions among airport contractors.” That action came after workers in six different cities filed OSHA complaints last month.

Broader Calls for Change

The labor organization is also calling on Congress to step up and help ensure good jobs with fair wages, affordable healthcare, and paid sick leave in this year’s FAA Reauthorization bill.

In particular, the organization is demanding that Congress "do its job and ensure that airport service workers – a majority Black, brown and immigrant workforce that has been historically left behind – receive the same wage and benefit standards the federal government requires for its own direct service contracts.”

The organization wants Congress to take federal action in the FAA budget reauthorization to ensure jobs with fair wages and benefits for airport service workers.

Rally locations around the country

An initial rally was held today at Portland International Airport. And several more rallies are planned for tomorrow and Thursday. The specific locations of Wednesday's labor actions include:

• Charlotte Douglas International Airport
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
• John F Kennedy International Airport
• Orlando International Airport 
• Chicago Midway International Airport
• Miami International Airport
• O’Hare International Airport
• Portland International Airport
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
  
  

On Thursday, additional rallies will be held at Philadelphia International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Tampa International Airport. 

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