NJ and NY Airport Workers Mark Milestone: 1st Union Bargaining Session

About 7,000 airport workers in New York and New Jersey celebrated a milestone on Tuesday when they began bargaining for their first union contract.

The subcontracted workers – about half of those employed at Newark, LaGuardia and JFK Airports - include baggage handlers, security officers, sky caps, cabin cleaners, terminal cleaners and customer service agents, union representatives stated.

The airport employees kicked off their inaugural contract bargaining session earlier this week after joining the 32BJ local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents 155,000 property service workers nationwide.

Airport workers in the region have been vocal in the local fight for a $15 hourly wage, as well as improvements to working conditions.

• See related article: Newark Mayor Pushes For $15 Hourly Wage At Newark Airport
• See related article: Newark Airport Workers Plan To Strike, Will Join Others Nationwide

One terminal cleaner at JFK Airport wrote about her employment situation on the U.S. Department of Labor blog:

“Airport jobs used to be good jobs. Twenty-five years ago, an airport worker could expect to work directly for the airlines, be paid a living wage, and have good health insurance and other benefits. Today it’s a different story. Now, the airlines use a subcontracting system to maximize their profits while driving the cost of labor down. The result? By the time I started working at the airport in 2012, the airlines were making record profits and most subcontracted workers were finding it difficult to survive.”

“When we started organizing three years ago, I was struggling to survive on poverty wages,” said Balfor Smith, a Baggage Handler at JFK airport.

“Today my coworkers and I have a path to $15 an hour and we began bargaining our first union contract. It has been an amazing journey and I know we can keep fighting until this contract is negotiated and in place to protect the rights we have won on the job.”

While airport workers plan to negotiate for a contract that will cover workplace rights, it is still up to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to raise wages and benefits for all workers in the region, union leaders stated.

“The right to bargain collectively as members of a labor union for fair wages and benefits always has been the foundation of the American middle class,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams. “Finally, the airport workers who are now members of 32BJ have claimed that right for themselves, after many hard years of organizing. These negotiations will establish that the airport workers who keep our nation on the move are entitled to respect for the dignity of their labor and the opportunity to pursue the American Dream.”

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Photo via 32BJ (SEIU), Facebook