NEW YORK NY– The Port Authority has approved a wage increase affecting several thousand members of
RWDSU Local 1102 and UNITE HERE Local 100. Unionized airline catering workers at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty will benefit from the largest sector-based minimum wage increase in the country.
“The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey increased wages for tens of thousands of airline catering and concessions workers. This increase will categorically change the lives of the hard-working people who make our airports run every day and will begin November 1, despite strong opposition from the airline industry. Service workers at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty, are key to the success of our region’s airports. The new wage floor of $19 per hour by 2023 shows tens of thousands of workers that they are valued by the people of New York and New Jersey and will allow hard working men and women to finally support themselves and their families with their airport job. Crucially, we were happy to see that the Port Authority’s resolution covers all airport service workers. This remedies an oversight in the previous policy, passed in 2014, which did not include airline catering workers.” Joint Statement from: Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), Bill Granfield, President, UNITE HERE Local 100, Alvin Ramnarain, President of Local 1102 of the RWDSU:
The new policy includes a steady increase in salary for unionized airline catering and airport concession workers. Many of the employees were receiving the states’ minimum wages. For over a year, unions negotiationed and lobbyied for wage increases for their members working at airports. RWDSU and UNITE HERE represent over 7,600 workers at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports. However the implementation of the proposal could impact thousands of additional workers at area airports.
“I have been a driver for the airline catering company Gate Gourmet at La Guardia airport for 26 years. Despite my hard work and dedication, I don’t earn enough to support my family. To make ends meet, I pick up extra shifts and overtime every week, but this means that I work long hours that keep me from being with my family. Raising the minimum wage at the airport to $19/hour will allow me and my co-workers to earn enough to support our families,” said Franz Vieux, a RWDSU Local 1102 Member who works for Gate Gourmet at LaGuardia Airport.
“This is a moment that I and many other airport workers in New York and New Jersey have spent years fighting for,” said Nelly Etienne, a UNITE HERE Local 100 member who works for United Airlines in the airline’s Newark Airport catering kitchen. “For me, a raise to $19 per hour will mean that I can provide a better life for my four children. We’ll finally be able to move into a home of our own.”
