Service workers with the SEIU 32BJ led rallies at Laguardia and John F. Kennedy Airport over the past week and half in an effort to get Congress to improve airport worker wages and benefits through the Federal Aviation Authority budget.
Later this year Congress is slated to vote on the FAA budget re-authorization bill, which governs the agency’s funding and programs for the next five years.
In the upcoming bill, airport service workers represented by SEIU have been explicitly pushing for the bill to include language from the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act, a separate bill before Congress that would stop airports from accessing federal funds for development projects unless they pay their service workers the prevailing wage and provide certain benefits.
“Including the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act in FAA Re authorization is a win-win: by turning airport service jobs into good-paying jobs with benefits, we can help stabilize the Black, brown and immigrant-powered service workforce, secure our nation’s airports and keep travelers on time,” said Mary Kay Henry, SEIU International President back in March.
Ten members of New York’s Congressional delegation are co-sponsors of the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act. Though House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whose district borders JFK, is not among the co-sponsors, a spokesperson told LaborPress that he both supports the standalone bill and is pushing to include its language as a provision in the FAA authorization.
As part of this legislative push, workers have organized around existing campaigns against workplace injustices.
Airport workers for Swissport Cargo and Swissport USA at Laguardia rallied on June 22 to protest unfair labor practices including retaliation and intimidation against workers for speaking out about conditions on the job. That morning, dozens of LaGuardia Airport workers walked off the job on a temporary strike in protest of the companies.
Last month, airport workers in Boston, Dallas, Denver, Newark, New York and Washington D.C. filed complaints with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration against Swissport companies. The complaints detailed alleged unsafe working conditions, including dangerous health and safety violations and broken equipment.
In January 2023, SEIU 32BJ filed a charge with the Brooklyn District Office of the National Labor Relations Board that the company had committed acts of retaliation in response to employee organizing. Swissport did not respond with a comment in time for publication.
Airport service workers at JFK also rallied June 28 where they delivered a petition to American Airlines, calling on the airline to support the wage and benefits standards included in the Good Jobs for Good Airport Act as part of the FAA Re-authorization. They were joined by Southeast Queens Assembly-member Khaleel Anderson.
“I stand with countless 32BJ security officers, food service workers, cleaning staff, ticketing agents, and retail service workers who keep JFK and NY running. They deserve fair wages & better labor standards!” Anderson tweeted after the rally.
