Subcontracted airport workers to strike Wednesday

Subcontracted workers at the Philadelphia International Airport are joining forces with employees at airports in eight other cities when they walk off the job at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The strike will be made up of workers from two subcontractors – PrimeFlight and McGinn Security – that fail to pay the city mandated $12 per hour minimum wage, according to 32BJ Service Employees International Union.

The push for $12 an hour has been a regular battle for the airport employees, who are not members of 32BJ SEIU. The union represents about 8,500 laborers in the Philadelphia region and has helped the PHL workers' organization efforts in the past.

Many city officials, including Mayor Jim Kenney have participated in past rallies, and some city and state political leaders are expected to take part in the demonstration Thursday.

The mayor even went on record at a Strawberry Mansion Town Hall meeting last December to say he wouldn't allow airport subcontractors to continue operating at PHL if they continued to pay wages below $12 an hour.

When contacted Wednesday after the plans to strike were announced, the Mayor's Office emphasized Kenney's commitment to helping the workers attain $12 an hour, but he appeared to back off on his previous promise of eviction.

"The Mayor fully supports the rights of workers to organize and to demonstrate," a statement from the Mayor's Office reads. "He remains committed to using all methods possible to ensure our Airport workers make a living wage."

Many of the subcontracted workers at PHL began receiving $12 an hour last year, but only after the city reached a lease agreement with the airport. SEIU says several contractors have yet to comply.

This rally also aims to bring to light the employer's alleged failure to abide by Philly's sick day laws, health and safety concerns, and other unfair labor practices, according to SEIU.

Locally based McGinn Security declined to comment on the strike. A spokesman for Nashville-based PrimeFlight, which employs baggage handlers and wheelchair assistants, was unavailable to comment.

The demonstration will form outside the departures side of Terminal B/C Wednesday night and continue through Thursday morning, as many travelers return from spring break destinations.

Representatives from PHL and American Airlines, which has a hub at the airport, have declined to comment on previous rallies by the contracted workers since they are not their employer.

Along with PHL Airport, SEIU says workers at other major hubs in New York, Newark, Washington D.C., Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, Chicago and Boston will strike. Employees at Los Angeles' LAX airport are planning a rally.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal