Story at a glance
- The Good Jobs for Good Airports Act aims to raise wages for all airport workers to $15 an hour plus benefits.
- It would apply to cleaners, wheelchair agents, baggage handlers, security personnel and more.
- If enacted, the legislation would prevent airports from accessing federal funding unless they raise worker wages.
The U.S. is experiencing a chaotic summer travel season and lawmakers in Washington are hoping to ease the burden on airport workers by introducing legislation to boost their pay.
A group of Democratic lawmakers introduced the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act and it aims to force all airport hubs to raise worker wages or risk losing access to federal funds. It includes many frontline travel workers like cleaners, wheelchair agents, baggage handlers, security personnel and more.
The proposed legislation would enforce a minimum $15 hourly wage and benefits established by the Department of Labor.
The federal government supplies $11 billion in funding to airports every year along with $3.2 billion in grants through the Airport Improvement Program grants. Another $4 billion has been appropriated for U.S. airports under President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law.
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“Airport workers risked their own health and the safety of their families to keep America moving during the pandemic. The least we can do is ensure they have good wages, decent benefits, and safe working conditions,” said Congressman Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), a co-sponsor of the legislation.
“Poverty wages don’t fly, and our legislation ensures that airport workers nationwide get the same benefits and wages that workers fought for and won at Chicago’s airports and others across the country.”
Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway Airport workers received a boost in their pay earlier this year after the city passed an ordinance that raised hourly wages to $17 and will rise again to $18 in 2023 — increasing by the consumer price index every year moving forward.
Airports and airlines around the country are struggling to manage a surge in travel, as COVID-19 restrictions fall, and many local mask mandates and other safety measures have also been dropped.
It’s put many airlines in a bind, including American Airlines which announced it would be eliminating service to three cities, Toledo, Ohio; Ithaca, N.Y.; and Islip, N.Y., beginning Sept. 7.
The airline cited a “regional pilot shortage” for the dropped service.
In March 2022, there were 461,222 flights operating in the U.S.— a 26 percent increase from March 2021 and a 17 percent increase from February 2022.
Now in June, more than 2,000 flights were cancelled and nearly 14,000 more were delayed ahead of Juneteenth and Father’s Day, according to data from FlightAware.
On the Friday before Father’s Day and Juneteenth, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) data showed that about 2.4 million people passed through airport checkpoints — the highest traffic recorded by the agency since Nov. 28, 2021, the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
The TSA acting head warned that 131 of the largest U.S. airports will likely face staffing shortages in June, as travel picks up in a post COVID-19 recovery.
According to The Washington Post, in a memo, Darby LaJoye, TSA administrator, asked office workers to volunteer to help out at airport checkpoints and were expected to work for up to 45 days in order to manage long lines and aid with administrative tasks.
Signs that there are recruiting efforts underway became evident a few months ago when Austin-Bergstrom International Airport warned it was anticipating over 30,000 passengers over April 3 and 4 and that airport leadership was partnering with TSA to address staffing shortages.
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