NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | October 5, 2018 | PAGE 17
WORKERS RIGHTS
Airport workers in Portland, worldwide launch day of protests
Airport workers around the
world — including at Portland
International Airport (PDX) —
held a day of action Oct. 2 to
call for better wages and work-
ing conditions. PDX workers
want to see their wages catch up
with those at other airports
across the United States.
Stan Edwards, a personal
service assistant at the Portland
airport, is among the laborers
who say the airport needs to
raise its standards for workers.
After five years there, Edwards
makes $12 an hour, doesn’t
have access to benefits and
struggles to afford housing in
Portland. He said airport work-
ers are asking to increase the
minimum wage.
“You guys got to listen to us,”
Edwards said. “There is a reason
why you guys are best airport
for six years in a row — not six
years, but six years in a row —
and it’s because of the people
who’s behind the scenes.”
Airport workers in other parts
of the country have recently
been successful at raising
wages. Last week, the Port Au-
thority of New York and New
Jersey approved a $19 per hour
minimum wage for 40,000
workers at three airports that
serve New York City. In San
Francisco, a proposal to increase
airport contract workers’ mini-
mum wage to $17 an hour made
its way to the mayor’s desk.
Jeremy Simer, researcher
with the Service Employees In-
ternational Union (SEIU) Local
49, said his union represents
about 450 workers on average at
different companies at the air-
port. Simer said the Port of Port-
land, the public agency that
manages the airport, has let it
fall behind other port authorities
across the country.
“That’s why airport workers
are calling on the Port of Port-
land to do their job as public ser-
vants and to manage the airport
in a way that’s good for the
workers who work there and not
just for airline profits,” Simer
said.
According to an Economic
Roundtable study from 2017,
nearly 30 percent of airport
workers in the U.S. must rely on
public assistance for basics such
as food, housing and health care.
Protests took place at 43 air-
ports in 13 countries, including
11 major U.S. airports.
— Public News Service
Endorsed by the NW Oregon Labor Council
Raymond Thomas
Please join the
NW OREGON LABOR COUNCIL
in voting for
James Coon
Benjamin Souede
Cynthia Newton
Melissa Haggerty
Chris Frost
Sydney Montanaro
If you were hurt
on the job by
someone from
another company,
you have rights to
sue that company,
in addition to
having your
workers’
comp claim.
Multnomah County
Circuit Court Judge
Position 30 on Oregon's 4th Judicial District.
820 SW Second Ave., Suite 200,
Portland, OR 97204
Scott Sell
Chris Thomas
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Authorized and paid by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, Portland, Oregon