Climb To Nation’s Highest Minimum Wage Begins At NJ, NY Airports

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The march towards the “highest minimum wage" in the United States has officially begun.

On Thursday, the first phase of a historic pay boost for workers at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports kicks in, marking the start of a march to a $19 an hour by 2023.

The new minimum wage – unanimously approved by Port Authority Board of Commissioners meeting in September – will mean a world of difference for nearly 40,000 NYC-area baggage handlers, security officers, wheelchair agents, terminal and airplane cleaners and other airport workers, union leaders said.

• See related article: Airport Workers Win 'Highest Min. Wage In US' After Long Battle

“These workers do vital jobs at some of the nation’s busiest airports and deserve decent wages that are the foundation of the middle class,” 32BJ SEIU President Héctor Figueroa said.

Thursday’s wage hike is an important step in the climb to a living wage, according to Figueroa, whose union, 32BJ SEIU, represents thousands of workers at the three affected airports.

Figueroa said that the new pay scale will affect all 40,000 low-wage workers at the airports, not just the 9,000 airport workers who organized themselves into a union and “led the fight.”

• See related article: SCOTUS Ruling Is 'Sad Day' For New Jersey Families, Unions Say

About 7,600 workers at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports are also represented by Unite Here! Local 100 and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), whose members have also been active in the fight for better wages and conditions. (Story continues below video)

• See related article: Newark Airport Workers March: 'We're Treated Like 2nd Class Citizens' (VIDEO)

Under the new policy, workers at Newark will see their wages increase from the current $10.45 to $12.45 as of Nov. 1, 2018 and to $15.60 by Sept. 1, 2019 – at which point they will be equal to the wages of workers at JFK and LaGuardia. The wages at JFK and LaGuardia airports will rise to $13.60 on Nov. 1, 2018. Thereafter, the minimum wage of all airport workers will increase as follows:

• $15.60 on Sept. 1, 2019
• $16.20 in 2020
• $17 in 2021
• $18 in 2022
• $19 in 2023

Despite the labor victories at the Port Authority’s airports, there are still challenges for workers, especially in Newark, where United Airlines is threatening to sue the Port Authority over the new $19 minimum wage, 32BJ SEIU representatives recently claimed. Other important fights on the horizon include efforts for better benefits and scheduling.

Workers expect some pushback, union leaders said, pointing to United Airlines’ recent "flipping" of a contractor at Newark Airport, resulting in layoffs for more than 800 employees.

• See related article: Newark Airport To Lose 821 Jobs; Company Reports Record Revenues

“Our fight is still ongoing,” said Donna Hampton, a security officer at JFK Airport. “I still can’t afford to pay for health care.

But Hampton added that there’s a new factor at play in New Jersey and New York’s busiest airports: hope. “Morale has changed… we now get more respect from the employers,” she said.

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Photo: 32BJ SEIU