Worker Protest At Newark Airport Is Inspired By MLK, Union Says

NEWARK, NJ — There are many ways for people to keep the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. alive. And one of them is to protest for social justice.

In honor of King, hundreds of airport workers plan to rally at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

The workers – who will include baggage handlers, cabin cleaners, wheelchair attendants, terminal cleaners – are rallying in support of the Healthy Terminals Act (S989), a bill recently introduced in New Jersey and New York that requires employers to provide passenger service and retail workers at Newark, JFK and LaGuardia airports a $4.54 per hour supplement that they could use to acquire health care.

According to labor union 32BJ SEIU, which is helping to spearhead the event, workers plan to rally outside the departures section of Terminal A at level 3, door 3 beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Led by local clergy, the workers will pray inside the terminal and a live choir will lift up workers’ voices in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., who “died supporting Memphis sanitation workers working under deplorable conditions,” the union said.

• See related article: Stories Of Racial Progress: MLK Day In Essex County

“While airport workers up and down the east coast have made staggering progress over the last decade, including winning the highest mandated minimum wage in the country—$19 per hour by 2023—thousands of workers lack quality, affordable health insurance,” 32BJ SEIU spokespeople said.

• See related article: Airport Workers Win 'Highest Min. Wage In US' After Long Battle
• See related article: Meet 10 NJ Families Who Had To Crowdfund To Pay Medical Bills

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