Airport Workers In NJ, NY Fight For New Contracts Amid Pandemic

NEWARK, NJ — A massive contract negotiation has kicked off amid the coronavirus pandemic at Newark, JFK and LaGuardia airports, and it may set the tone for future bargaining across the nation, union leaders say.

Last week, a committee representing more than 10,000 airport workers in New Jersey and New York – many of them Black or immigrants – sat down with a group of 23 employers to take the first steps toward a new contract.

According to their union, 32BJ SEIU, the affected workers include subcontracted passenger service representatives, cabin and terminal cleaners, baggage handlers, security officers, wheelchair attendants and skycaps. The group includes about 6,000 employees at JFK, 2,300 at Newark and 2,100 at LaGuardia.

After more than four years of fighting to organize, workers signed their landmark first contract into effect in January 2017. It will expire on April 1.

Since that time, a landmark policy shift by the Port Authority, which manages all three airports, has led to a climb towards one of the highest minimum wages in the entire nation, which will reach $19 per hour by 2023.

• See related article: Airport Workers Win 'Highest Min. Wage In US' After Long Battle

Now, employees will be trying to secure their second work contract. But this time, there’s a big wrinkle: the negotiations will be taking place amid a pandemic.

“The unit will be the largest group of airport workers to start bargaining since the [pandemic’s] onset, and is expected to lead the nationwide conversation on essential worker safety and recovery following COVID-19,” spokespeople with 32BJ SEIU said.

Current demands include better health and safety protections and “expanded organizing rights,” as well as provisions that would ban employers from discriminating against workers based on hairstyles and hair textures.

Workers are also demanding a “smooth implementation” of the Healthy Terminals Act, a health care benefit supplement recently signed into law in New York. The New Jersey version of the bill is currently before state lawmakers.

• See related article: Newark Airport Workers Resume Health Care Fight Amid COVID Crisis

During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020, more than 60 percent of airport workers affiliated with 32BJ SEIU were furloughed or laid off.

United Airlines, which maintains a hub at Newark Airport but isn't among the employers involved in the current round of negotiations, reported in July 2020 that it saw the "most difficult financial quarter in its 94-year history" because of the coronavirus. According to United, it suffered a second quarter net loss of $1.6 billion and an adjusted net loss of $2.6 billion due to plummeting passenger volumes.

• See related article: United Airlines Has 'Most Difficult' Quarter Ever

But the union and its workers expect that more employees will be recalled to their former jobs as passenger traffic continues to increase.

Vladimir Claijeune, a JFK passenger service representative who was furloughed in March, said it’s been reassuring to know that the union has had his back during the pandemic.

“I’m excited to go back to doing a job I love, but without our union protections, that could’ve been the end of my career at the airport,” Claijeune said.

• See related article: Coronavirus Still Impacting Travel At NJ And NY Airports

MOVING FORWARD

32BJ President Kyle Bragg said as the nation continues to rebuild from the pandemic, people need to make sure the new U.S. economy doesn’t leave behind the essential workers who were supposed to be a major part of the federal CARES Act.

“After the airline industry received up to $65 billion in taxpayer bailout money over the last 12 months, we are simply asking for the bare minimum the workers need in order to do their jobs safely,” Bragg said.

• See related article: COVID Bailout Is For People, Not Stocks, Rep. Donald Payne Says
• See related article: United Airlines May Lay Off 36K Despite $5 Billion In Federal Aid

Other union supporters pushed for “fair” contracts for airport workers during a virtual rally on Thursday (watch the video below).

New Jersey state senator Teresa Ruiz, a co-sponsor of the Healthy Terminals Act in the Garden State who represents Newark and Belleville, said the workers are the “backbone” of their respective airports.

“The Senate has taken action and we hope the Assembly will soon follow,” Ruiz said, speaking about the New Jersey bill.

“Our 10,000 airport workers here in New York and New Jersey continue to be on the forefront of turning airports that were once no different than old-school sweatshops to providers of good, family-sustaining jobs for working people everywhere,” 32BJ Vice President Rob Hill said.

“This contract is how our airports take meaningful steps to recover,” Hill added.

Workers and employers are set to meet back at the virtual bargaining table on March 11.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.