Newark Airport, Penn Station Workers Would Get Big Raise Under Proposed Law

NEWARK, NJ — Transportation workers at Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal took a step closer to a big raise after a proposed bill passed the New Jersey Senate Labor Committee on Thursday.

The potential law, S-3226, would enact the “Safe Transportation Jobs and Fair Employment Rules Act,” or the “STAFER Act,” which would set a minimum wage and compensation rate for subcontracted transportation center service workers at the three facilities.

The bill would base the minimum wage on federal and state rates of pay for specific workers – currently set at $17.98 an hour, plus $4.27 in benefits, paid vacation and certain holidays.

The potential law would also apply to food service workers at the transportation hubs:

“The minimum wage rate for a subcontracted transportation center service worker who is a food service worker, a skycap or a redcap receiving tips shall be a cash wage of at least two-thirds of the minimum wage rate, provided that the tips of the employee, when added to the employee’s cash wage, are equal to or exceed the minimum wage rate. Tipped skycaps, redcaps, and food service workers would also receive the full amount of benefits and paid time off minimums as provided under the bill.”

The STAFFER Act now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

Read the full bill here.

Workers at Newark Airport have been vocal about their demand for a living wage, and have been holding protests at the busy transportation hub for years, gaining the support of elected officials such as New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, New Jersey Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

Some of the workers, including employees of airline subcontractors such as PrimeFlight Aviation Services, have said that they make just $10.20 an hour, not nearly enough to raise a family.

• See related article: Fight For Living Wage Continues At Newark Airport
• See related article: United Airlines Announces Record Profit, Workers Protest Low Wages

Currently, workers at the Port Authority’s New Jersey facilities make about $21,000 per year, even though their peers at New York’s airports and transport hubs earn $15 per hour due to the state’s higher minimum wage, according to a joint news release from Sweeney and New Jersey Senator M. Teresa Ruiz, the primary sponsors of the STAFER Act.

“The men and women who work at Newark Airport, Newark Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal shouldn’t have to work at poverty wages,” Ruiz said. “This is about fairness and providing employees who work hard every day with a livable wage.”

“The current wage scale for New Jersey employees at these transportation centers undervalues the vital work they do every day to keep our airports and transit facilities safe, clean and operational for those who depend on them,” Sweeney said. “We can’t sit back and allow this injustice to continue. Employees at these facilities are often the first to respond to dangerous situations and help ensure the safety of passengers. They deserve decent wages and benefits.”

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File Photo: 32BJ (SEIU), Newark Airport labor action, 2016