Airport Workers Around the World Will Protest October 2 — Here’s Why

On October 2, airport workers all over the world will take part in demonstrations for better working conditions, better pay and union rights.

According to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), workers from more than 40 airports in 13 countries, which control a staggering 36% of world air travel where nearly 4 million people pass through each day, will be participating. Airports like LAX, JFK, Charles De Gaulle and Flughafen are expected to have workers involved in the protests.

Airport workers, such as janitors, baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants and security officers are heavily relied upon by their employers and by travelers every single day, but are often given low wages and unsafe work environments.

According to the SEIU, nearly half of all airport workers in the U.S. are paid so little that they have to skip meals or go hungry and nearly 30% are forced to rely on public assistance for basic needs like food, housing, and healthcare. And the issue is the same, or worse, around the world. In Thailand, some airport workers are paid just $10 a day, which is half of the living wage for that country. Meanwhile, the airline industry reports bigger profits, including an expected $38.4 billion this year, that often do not go towards paying staff better wages or benefits.

“I work hard cleaning United Airlines’ planes, but I'm paid so little that I have to live with my grandmother,” said Alicia Cooper, Lead Cabin Cleaner at Newark Liberty International Airport in a press release by the SEIU. “My dreams are on hold. I want to go to college, get my own apartment, and buy a car so I don't have to take two buses to get to work. On these wages, it's not possible right now.”

According to The American Prospect, workers’ wages have dwindled over the last couple of decades since 9/11. Between 2002 and 2012, the average pay for baggage handlers fell from $19 an hour to $10.60, the magazine reported.

One (anonymous) customer service worker told The American Prospect that before 9/11, she had been receiving benefits from her employer. After the attacks, the airline switched contractors—“[and] with this one, we don’t have anything but a paycheck.”

In addition, the SEIU is raising the issue that this is not only an economic problem, but also a civil one, focusing on United Airlines in particular.

“Subcontracted workers are paid a fraction of what most direct employees are paid. And while nearly 100% of United’s non-managerial employees are represented by a union, a majority of its contracted workers — who are mostly people of color and immigrants — do not have those same rights and benefits,” the SEIU wrote in a press release.

Mary Kay Henry, President of the SEIU, hopes these demonstrations will improve the quality of life for all airport employees. “In city after city all across the country, airport workers have won raises — doubling their income in some cities — and the right to form a union. They've done it by coming together to elect leaders who work for all of us, no matter our skin color or zip code, and calling on those elected officials to hold greedy corporations accountable. We won't stop until all working people — white, black and brown — can join together in unions for the power in numbers to win higher wages, affordable healthcare and a better life for their families.”