By Bill Parry
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has scored another victory over an airline in its ongoing battle for fairer wages for service workers at the two airports in Queens.
American Airlines has agreed to boost the wages of low-paid workers at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that American will order an immediate $1 per hour raise for contract workers making $9 per hour or less.
In addition to the raise, American Airlines will designate Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday, meeting the demands of Local 32BJ/SEIU that initiated the heated debate with a protest rally and march Jan. 20 that culminated in a sit-in that closed the 94th Street Bridge approach to LaGuardia Airport.
“On behalf of over a thousand workers who will benefit from this agreement, I commend American Airlines for taking this important action,” Cuomo said.
Michael Minerva, American Airlines vice president of government and airport affairs, said, “We appreciate the hard work service employees provide our customers every day. By taking action to improve wages, we are bolstering our commitment to create world-class places to work.”
The move makes JetBlue Airways the last airline to defy Port Authority demands for a fairer wage for airport cleaners, baggage handlers and security guards.
Company spokeswoman Tamara Young said, “JetBlue continues to support an increase in the minimum wage for all employed in our state and not just a select few.”
That was a point echoed by the trade association Airlines for America.
“The Legislature, not the Port Authority, is the appropriate vehicle through which to make changes to minimum wage, which would appropriately affect all workers, rather than just those from one industry,” spokeswoman Katie Connell said.
A total of 32 union leaders, elected officials and clergy were arrested in the civil disobedience and within days the union had the support of the mayor, the governor and eventually Patrick Foye, the Cuomo-appointed executive director of the Port Authority.
Foye wrote a letter to the CEOs of four air carriers Jan. 27 demanding higher wages, to which Delta Airlines agreed. Foye wrote a second letter Feb. 10 warning of exclusion from the new 21st Century Terminal Building. United Airlines fell in line followed by American Airlines, leaving JetBlue, headquartered in Long Island City, as the sole holdout.
“This step by American really points up the unfairness of a company like JetBlue, which makes its home in our city but persists in keeping airport workers at poverty wages,” 32BJ/SEIU President Hector Figueroa said. “The workers are thankful to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye for staying focused on helping the workers. Ultimately, we think this will help not only the workers but it’ll help make ours the world-class airports that they should be.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
