Workers who clean airplanes, remove trash and help with wheelchairs at Charlotte's airport, one of the nation's busiest, went on strike Monday during a busy week of Thanksgiving travel to demand higher wages.
The Service Employees International Union announced the strike in a statement early Monday, saying the workers would demand “an end to poverty wages and respect on the job during the holiday travel season.” The strike was expected to last 24 hours, said union spokesperson Sean Keady.
Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services cast ballots Friday to authorize the work stoppage at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a hub for American Airlines. The two companies contract with American, one of the world's biggest carriers, to provide services such as cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs.
Workers say they previously complained that they can't afford basic necessities, including food, housing or car repairs. They described living paycheck to paycheck while performing jobs that keep planes running on schedule. Most of them earn $12.50 to $19 an hour, union officials said.
Those workers should make $22 to $25 an hour, said the Rev. Glencie Rhedrick, of Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, at an SEIU Workers United rally across from the airport. She was joined by striking employees and advocates, many raising signs that read, “Respect Black and Brown workers” and “Respect, Protect, Pay Us.”
“We cannot live on the wages that we are being paid,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said at the rally. “I can honestly say it's hard every single day with my children, working a full-time job but having to look my kids in the eyes and sit there and say, ‘I don’t know if we're going to have a home today.'”
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ABM said in a statement Monday that it would take steps to minimize the strike's impact on travelers. There are avenues for employees to communicate issues, the company said, including a national hotline and a “general open door policy for managers at our worksite.”
“We keep employee safety and job satisfaction at the forefront of everything we do, and we are committed to addressing concerns swiftly,” ABM said.
Prospect Airport Services said last week that the company recognized the seriousness of the potential for a strike during the busy holiday travel season. It did not respond to a request for comment Monday. American Airlines also did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.
Several hundred workers participated in the work stoppage. About 800 workers were affected by the union’s push for higher wages, but an exact number who walked off was unclear, said union spokesperson Ana Tinsly.
Timothy Lowe II, a wheelchair attendant, said at the rally that he has heard of co-workers having to sleep in their cars or in U-Hauls because they can't afford rent. At the end of his shifts, Lowe said, he has to figure out where to spend the night because he doesn't make enough for a deposit on a home.
“We just want to be able to have everything that’s a necessity paid for by the job that hired us to do a great job so they can make billions,” he said.
Charlotte airport officials have said this holiday travel season is expected to be the busiest on record, with an estimated 1.02 million passengers departing the airport between last Thursday and the Monday after Thanksgiving. Airport officials said in a statement Monday morning that they were “monitoring and actively engaged with all partners to ensure terminal operations are not impacted,” noting that the striking workers aren’t employed by the city’s aviation department.
The union's North Carolina director, Niecy Brown, said at the rally that many people will travel through the Charlotte airport for Thanksgiving to spend time with family, but that the striking workers won't have that same holiday experience because of low wages.
“They don't have a table to go to; they don't have a home to go to,” she said.
In addition to walking off the job and rallying, striking workers plan to hold a “Strikesgiving” lunch “in place of the Thanksgiving meal that many of the workers won’t be able to afford later this week,” union officials said.
