Exhausted US airport workers see hope in minimum wage bill as summer of travel chaos looms

On 16 June, Senator Ed Markey, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Chuy Garcia – all Democrats – introduced the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act, which would raise the minimum wage for US airport workers, including those who work for contractors, to $15 an hour, provide paid time off and at least $4.60 an hour toward health insurance. The bill is backed by large US transportation unions, including the SEIU, CWA, Unite Here, the Transport Workers Union (TWU), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO). It comes at a time when the travel industry in the US – especially the airlines and airports – is in a deep crisis, as staff shortages in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in thousands of delayed and canceled flights that have promised a summer of chaos for millions of American travelers. Rob Hill, executive vice-president of 32BJ SEIU and director of the national airports organizing campaign, said airlines and airports have relied on contractors that have driven down standards and wages for workers in a race to the bottom for the cheapest bid, which has made organizing workers by a single employer difficult. This legislation focuses on entire airports to raise standards across the board to facilitate union organizing and stabilize the workforce at airports with livable wages and benefits amid high employee turnovers and worker shortages, especially as significant federal funds go to airports and the airline industry. “With this bill, the federal government will be raising the standard for potentially hundreds and thousands of airport workers, mostly workers of color,” said Hill. “If the federal government’s going to fund money into this, it should be a benefit for workers, it should be a benefit for taxpayers.”<br/>