'Fight for $15' Protest Planned at FiDi's Zuccotti Park

By Eric Kiefer (Patch Staff)

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — A coalition of workers from New Jersey and New York plan to converge for a day of action at Zuccotti Park and Newark Airport on Tuesday in support of the nationwide “Fight for $15” campaign, organizers say.

The group of fast food workers, airport workers, Uber drivers and taxi drivers will kick off a day of “civil disobedience” with a march in Lower Manhattan to protest alleged retaliation and unfair treatment at McDonald’s, according to a news release from the 32BJ local of SEIU.

The protesters will then head to Newark Airport for a rally and march to demand that Newark Airport workers in New Jersey “aren’t treated as second class citizens” and are given a $15 minimum wage like their colleagues at New York’s airports.

• See related article: United Airlines Announces Record Profit, Workers Protest Low Wages

Newark airport workers will also call on contractor Primeflight to "recognize their union rights, raise wages and provide benefits to its workers," organizers stated.

According to 32BJ, protest details include:

• 6 a.m. at Zuccotti Park (corner of Liberty Street and Broadway) in the Financial District – “Striking fast food workers, supported by airport workers and community, march to nearby McDonald’s at 160 Broadway to protest unfair labor practices and risk arrest. Uber drivers and taxi drivers to form solidarity caravan at Zuccotti Park to demand good jobs and living wages for app-based drivers.”
• Noon at Newark Airport Terminal B (Level 2, Door 1) – “March and protest with airport workers, fast food workers and community members from both New York and New Jersey.”

AIRPORT STRIKE, LABOR ACTIVITY

About 7,000 airport workers in New York and New Jersey celebrated a milestone in May when they began bargaining for their first union contract.

The workers – about half of those employed at Newark, LaGuardia and JFK Airports - include baggage handlers, security officers, sky caps, cabin cleaners, terminal cleaners and customer service agents, union representatives stated.

• See related article: NJ and NY Airport Workers Mark Milestone

Airport workers in the region have been vocal in the local fight for a $15 hourly wage, as well as improvements to working conditions.

• See related article: Newark Mayor Pushes For $15 Hourly Wage At Newark Airport
• See related article: Newark Airport Workers Plan To Strike, Will Join Others Nationwide

One terminal cleaner at JFK Airport wrote about her employment situation on the U.S. Department of Labor blog:

“Airport jobs used to be good jobs. Twenty-five years ago, an airport worker could expect to work directly for the airlines, be paid a living wage, and have good health insurance and other benefits. Today it’s a different story. Now, the airlines use a subcontracting system to maximize their profits while driving the cost of labor down. The result? By the time I started working at the airport in 2012, the airlines were making record profits and most subcontracted workers were finding it difficult to survive.”

“When we started organizing three years ago, I was struggling to survive on poverty wages,” said Balfor Smith, a Baggage Handler at JFK airport.

“Today my coworkers and I have a path to $15 an hour and we began bargaining our first union contract. It has been an amazing journey and I know we can keep fighting until this contract is negotiated and in place to protect the rights we have won on the job.”

While airport workers plan to negotiate for a contract that will cover workplace rights, it is still up to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to raise wages and benefits for all workers in the region, union leaders stated.

“The right to bargain collectively as members of a labor union for fair wages and benefits always has been the foundation of the American middle class,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams. “Finally, the airport workers who are now members of 32BJ have claimed that right for themselves, after many hard years of organizing. These negotiations will establish that the airport workers who keep our nation on the move are entitled to respect for the dignity of their labor and the opportunity to pursue the American Dream.”

Photo: 32BJ via Facebook, with permission (Workers protest at Newark Airport in March)
Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com