Airport Workers Rally For Minimum Wage Hike In Newark, NYC

NEWARK, NJ — Airports are busier than ever. Airlines are raking in multi-billion-dollar profits, and their executives are taking home huge pay packages. And it’s only fair that the workers who make it all possible get their fair slice of the pie – about $25 an hour, advocates say.

On Thursday, hundreds of unionized airport workers rallied at Newark Airport and John F. Kennedy Airport to demand a pay hike as their current contract nears its expiration date.

The workers also rallied in the names of their peers at LaGuardia Airport, who are covered under the same agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. That contract is set to expire on June 30, according to labor union 32BJ SEIU.

For the past month, airport workers have been holding picket lines and rallies as they push for a new contract. Their demands include a minimum wage raise to $25 by 2030, as well as “parity for health, vacation and holiday standards” at all three airports.

Now, their efforts have picked up two new high-profile supporters: New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy and former New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney.

“Our brothers and sisters in labor deserve a living wage that allows them to pay the bills, put food on the table, and stow away money for a rainy-day fund,” Murphy said.

“Everyone – not just the folks in the board room – should be able to share in success, so I am proud to add my voice to the chorus today to say that airport workers deserve a raise,” she added. “We are all stronger when we rise together.”

Sweeney agreed, saying that the Port Authority needs to provide a “runway to a $25 minimum wage,” adequate and affordable health care, and meaningful paid time off for all workers at Newark, JFK and LaGuardia airports – and on an equal basis between the three.

“With Wall Street booming and corporate profits soaring at airlines like United, American and Delta, it is time for the Port Authority to improve living standards for the airport workers who kept us going throughout the pandemic and drive economic growth in our region,” Sweeney said.

UPPING THE MINIMUM WAGE

More than five years ago, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey raised the minimum wage at its airports to $19 an hour – the highest in the nation at the time. Now, with rent and housing costs skyrocketing across the Tri-State area, it’s time to hike it again, union leaders say.

The Port Authority runs the area’s three major airports in New Jersey and New York: Newark Airport, LaGuardia and JFK. In 2018, the agency greenlighted a plan to increase the minimum wage at these airports over a period of five years – ending at $19 in 2023.

A Port Authority official said the hike to $19 would also benefit travelers at the airport by reducing staff turnover, leading to “better trained and observant employees.” The move impacted nearly 40,000 baggage handlers, security officers, wheelchair agents, terminal/airplane cleaners and other airport workers.

• Read More: Airport Workers Win ‘Highest Min. Wage In US’ After Long Battle
• Read More: Climb To Nation’s Highest Minimum Wage Begins At NJ, NY Airports

Port Authority officials have pointed to that wage hike as a sign of good faith.

“The Port Authority has taken a leadership role in ensuring that airport workers at JFK International, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty International airports are among the highest paid in the nation,” Port Authority spokespeople recently stated, responding to the union’s rallies in Newark and New York City this week.

“The Port Authority’s action to expand the minimum wage policy in 2018 has culminated in a $19/hour wage for tens of thousands of airport workers beginning in September 2023,” the agency said.

But according to spokespeople with 32BJ SEIU, there is plenty of money flowing through the three airports.

According to a statement from the union, airlines like American, Delta and United – among others – have seen substantial multi-billion-dollar profits in the past year. See Related: No More ‘On The Fly Refunds’: NJ Lawmaker Pushes For Permanent Changes

The difference in pay between executives and other airport workers is staggering, 32BJ SEIU spokespeople said:

“With tens of millions of travelers passing through Newark International Airport annually – making them the busiest aviation hub in the country – the workers who maintain the safety and cleanliness of these facilities play an essential role in our tourism and travel industry.However, their service has not been fairly compensated even as airlines like American, Delta and United rake in multi-billion-dollar profits. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom, for example, had a pay package of $31.4 million in 2023, roughly $15,000 an hour compared to the $19 an hour that airport workers at JFK, LGA and EWR are paid. In other words, he was paid 789 times the salary of airport service workers in the Tri-State area.”

The drive for $25 (per hour) has also picked up support from another large labor union: Unite Here Local 100.

“Travelers can’t have a high-quality experience in their air without the services our members and other airport workers provide on the ground,” secretary-treasurer Sussie Lozada said.

“Our workers deserve fair wages and benefits because no one should be working in poverty,” Lozada urged. “We stand in solidarity with our members and all airport workers to demand essential rights for essential workers.”

Fatiah Marrow, a cabin cleaner at Newark Airport, said that there’s a big question that workers like her are asking themselves: “Can we be expected to survive on $19 per hour in 2024?”

“I know that between my rent, student loans, utilities, car payment, and phone bill, the answer is I cannot survive on the current wage,” Marrow said. “And I am far from alone.”

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