Airport Lounge Workers Picket In Newark For Better Pay, Conditions

NEWARK, NJ — Lamar Roper has been working in the Lufthansa Lounge at Newark Airport as a dishwasher for a year. And there’s one thing Roper has learned so far: when flights are delayed, it will likely mean the staff won’t get home until the wee hours of the morning.

If they can find a way to get home at all, Roper adds.

Roper is employed with Sodexo, which provides food service operations at passenger lounges at major airports around the world – including the Lufthansa Lounge at Newark Airport’s Terminal B. And along with co-workers and labor union Unite Here, Roper is pushing for a new contract that will give them better pay and working conditions.

On Friday, Unite Here organized a picket line on behalf of Sodexo workers at the Lufthansa Lounge in Newark Airport. Other picket lines took place on the same day at airports in Washington D.C. and Boston.

Along with the picket line, workers held up signs that read “Sodexo workers need a raise” and leafleted travelers to alert them about the ongoing labor dispute.

It’s not uncommon for severe delays to hit Newark Airport, protesters pointed out. Read More: Newark Airport Among Worst in Nation for Flight Delays, Report Says

But while passengers are drinking and eating their blues away, the workers serving them are often staying much later than their scheduled shifts, Roper said.

“One time I didn’t clock out until damn near 1 a.m.,” Roper complained. “I take the bus and some buses stop after midnight; how are we supposed to get home? I don’t have enough money to Uber. All the pain and pressure we go through – we deserve more.”

“Sodexo lounge workers at Newark are proud of the work they do serving frequent travelers in the respite of the lounge,” Unite Here Local 100 President Jose Maldonado said.

“Neither the Sodexo workers nor the traveling public expected to see a picket line go up at Newark airport, and we hope this will be the last action we’ll have to take to ensure Sodexo workers are able to secure a new union contract that will allow them to provide for their families,” Maldonado added.

Unite Here noted that there have been other recent labor protests and union rallies at the airport lately, including actions from pilots, flight attendants and other workers.

• See related article: 300 Cargo Workers At Newark Airport See Long-Awaited Pay Boost
• See related article: Fed-Up United Flight Attendants Protest At Newark Airport

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