Philadelphia Airport Workers Win Major Victory Against Abusive Subcontracting

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(In These Times) After over a year of worker strikes and solidarity from a labor and faith coalition, Philadelphia International Airport contracted workers received assurance that they can form a union without retaliation and will be paid a $12 minimum wage­­—up from rates as low as $7.25 per hour plus tips. This is a major victory for contracted workers across the country whose bosses and workplaces regularly take advantage of indirect employment arrangements to avoid responsibility for workers’ rights and conditions.

Airports and airlines across the country often use contractors to hire baggage handlers, aircraft cleaners and wheelchair assistants. At Philadelphia’s airport, around 2,000 staff members work for contractors. Because contractors in all industries commonly label their employees as part-time or temporary workers, those workers often don’t receive benefits like healthcare coverage or paid sick leave. Workers directly employed by their workplace are more likely to receive benefits and be union members.

The Philadelphia airport workers had two main concerns: low pay and management retaliation for organizing. To address the issue of wages, activists garnered enough support to place a referendum on the May 2014 ballot for state and local elections. Philadelphians were asked if they wanted to expand the city’s $12 minimum wage to workers hired by contractors at city-subsidized projects. The referendum overwhelmingly passed and would be enacted in January 2015.

However, at a rally earlier this month, City Councilwomen Maria Quiñones-Sanchez said PrimeFlight Aviation Services, a contractor that serves over 40 airports across the country, had yet to implement the $12 an hour wage. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Linda Lloyd says this was because the contractor was operating under the pre-referendum lease. .................(more)

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18087/philadelphia_airport_workers_secure_major_victory_for_all_contracted_worker