N.J. Airport Workers Demand $15 An Hour, Rally In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — Several hundred supporters of the “Fight for $15” wage movement held a rally at Newark Airport on Tuesday in solidarity with a national day of protest.

Acting in cooperation and garbed in yellow ponchos against a pouring rain, hundreds of airport and fast food workers held a sit-in near the entrance of Terminal C to demand that Newark Airport workers in New Jersey “aren’t treated as second class citizens” and are given a $15 minimum wage like their colleagues at New York’s airports.

Newark airport workers called on contractor Primeflight – which operates at the busy Newark Airport - to "recognize union rights, raise wages and provide benefits to its workers.”

• See related article: Newark Airport: ‘Fight For $15’ Protest Planned In N.J.

A spokeswoman for the Port Authority told NJ.com that although the rally caused a small amount of traffic, it didn’t interrupt the airport's regular operations.

Tuesday’s rally at Newark Airport was among a multitude of similar protests and actions taken on Nov. 29 in solidarity with the Fight for $15 movement, including a rally at a New York City McDonald’s that ended with several arrests.

The labor union that helped organize the local effort, SEIU 32BJ, posted a video of the rally on its Facebook page.

AIRPORT STRIKE, LABOR ACTIVITY

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

The 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.

• See related article: NJ and NY Airport Workers Mark Milestone

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.”

Photo: SEIU 32BJ, via Facebook

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