After this summer's weeks and months of struggling to cope with record passenger numbers, and oppressive heat waves experienced all around the country, airport service workers are fed up. Following recent months’ militant efforts by worker groups, airport support employees from three of the country’s busiest air travel hubs will unite on Tuesday September 19, to demand Congressional action.
A series of unified actions, including rallies, protests, speak outs and more are set to take place at American Airlines hubs in Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth and Phoenix International Airports. These workforces—which largely consist of Black, brown and immigrant individuals— will be joining forces with flight attendants, pilots, elected officials and community allies to protest sub-par working conditions.
The label of “airport service worker” can refer to a range of occupations that for the foundation for aviation operations on the ground, including ticketing and gate agents, baggage handlers, fuelers, cabin cleaners, security officers, wheelchair agents, janitors and more. Their jobs are demanding and difficult, their hours are unstable and their pay is typically low.
Now, they are demanding that Congress step up to ensure they start receiving fair pay, affordable healthcare and paid time off. About 300,000 of these employees currently work to keep U.S. airports safe, clean and running, and many have done so this summer amid sweltering, triple-digit temperatures without access to healthcare and while being paid poverty-level wages.
Airlines are short of ground crew and mechanics, among other types of workers. (photo via iStock/E+/Hispanolistic)
These actions scheduled strategically ahead of the looming September 30 deadline for Congress to pass a bill reauthorizing FAA funding—the federal agency responsible for regulating and reforming U.S. air travel. Previous measures have included protections for such job classes as pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers, but the FAA Reauthorization bill has historically left out airport service workers.
A media advisory issued by the Service Employees International Union states, “Airport service workers are fed up with a decision-making process that takes place behind closed doors and excludes protections for an essential, majority people-of-color-powered workforce. They’re turning their anger into action to demand Congress write airport service workers into the FAA Reauthorization bill by including good jobs with fair wages and affordable benefits.”
It goes on to say, “Until airport service workers have livable wages and basic benefits like access to affordable health care and protection from extreme heat, the travel industry will continue to be plagued by chaos, delays, and dysfunction for workers and travelers alike.”
Tuesday’s action comes on the heels of those recently taken by airport service workers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, who filed complaints with health and safety authorities alleging they had been forced to work under hazardous heat conditions for weeks on end without adequate access to shade, potable water and medical care under the strain of this summer’s record-breaking temperatures.
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