Airline Catering Workers Demand Better Wages At Newark, JFK, LGA

Dozens of airline catering workers from Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports rallied at the Port Authority board meeting at 4 World Trade Center on Thursday to call on the agency to raise wages.

According to a statement from labor union Unite Here, airline catering workers at Newark, LaGuardia and JFK are asking the Port Authority of NY and NJ to pass a minimum wage policy that would raise the wage-floor and living standards for tens of thousands of workers.

What’s the pay rate for the 4,700 airline catering workers? Those at LaGuardia and JFK make $13 an hour. Their peers at Newark Airport earn even less, with some employees netting a mere $9.75 per hour, Unite Here spokespeople said.

“I’ve worked in airline catering at Newark Airport for twelve years, but I still earn just a little over $12 per hour,” said Lea Bagnon, who works for United Airlines Catering Operations and is leading a union organizing campaign at Newark Airport. “We deserve higher wages for the work that we do – just like the rest of the workers at the airport.”

“I’ve been a driver for Gate Gourmet at LaGuardia Airport for 26 years,” said Franz Vieux. “As drivers charged with moving food through the airport to feed passengers on flights, we have to adhere to all the airport’s security measures. The work is stressful, and hard. We have sacrificed for our companies to help keep them afloat. After 9/11, we all agreed to a wage freeze that lasted four and a half years. Because the hourly wage is low, some workers have to work two shifts to earn what they need to survive.”

• See related article: Newark Airport Workers Hope For Better Shake Under Murphy
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The workers’ above demands were echoed in a letter to Port Authority officials, signed by more than 60 New York and New Jersey state and city lawmakers, including:

Daniel Benson, NJ State Assembly

Annette Chaparro, NJ State Assembly

Gordon Johnson, NJ State Assembly

Tim Eustace, NJ State Assembly

Thomas Giblin, NJ State Assembly

Jamel Holley, NJ State Assembly

Joe Danielsen, NJ State Assembly

Mila Jasey, NJ State Assembly

Gordon Johnson, NJ State Assembly

Robert Karabinchak, NJ State Assembly

James Kennedy, NJ State Assembly

Vincent Prieto, NJ State Assembly

Cleopatra Tucker, NJ State Assembly

Valerie Vainieri Huttle, NJ State Assembly

Nicholas Chiaravalloti, NJ State Assembly

Wayne DeAngelo, NJ State Assembly

Angela McKnight, NJ State Assembly

Eliana Pintor Marin, NJ State Assembly

Joseph Lagana, NJ State Assembly

Joseph Cryan, NJ State Senate

Nellie Pou, NJ State Senate

Ronald Rice, NJ State Senate

Robert Gordon, NJ State Senate

Paul Sarlo, NJ State Senate

Troy Singleton, NJ State Senate

Bob Smith, NJ State Senate

Joseph Vitale, NJ State Senate

Loretta Weinberg, NJ State Senate

Richard Codey, NJ State Senate

Mildred Crump, Newark City Council President

Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins, Newark City Council

Eddie Osborne, Newark City Council

Joseph McCallum Jr., Newark City Council

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Photo: Unite Here