Rallying for wages, benefits at LAX
Daily Breeze - April 9, 2008
By Art Marroquin

After 20 years of working as a skycap at Los Angeles International Airport, Henry Watts still smiles as he greets people passing through Terminal Two.

Despite the dedication to his job, Watts said he would like to earn a little more money, along with improved health-care benefits that include dental and vision coverage.

"If you do quality work, you should get what you deserve," Watts said. "But anytime I need to get glasses, I have to pay for it out of my pocket. I want to see that change because it's an expense I can't afford."

Watts was among 200 unionized janitors, security screeners, baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants and other airport service workers who attended a rally outside the airport Wednesday afternoon in hopes of drawing attention to upcoming contract negotiations with their employers.

A similar rally was held Wednesday at San Francisco International Airport.

Airlines operating at LAX have contracts with private firms charged with hiring airport service workers, who earn an average of $10.50 hourly.

Increased pay, improved health benefits and better job training are some of the requests being made by more than 5,000 airport service workers statewide who are represented by the Service Employees International Union, about 2,000 of whom work at LAX.

"The airlines and corporations profit off the backs of these workers and must accept responsibility for them," said Mike Garcia, president of SEIU Local 1877. "They engaged in races to the bottom by contracting out the work of these workers to the lowest bidder, which has created poverty-level conditions and a lack of basic medical care."

Officials with several companies that hire airport service workers at LAX declined to comment or did not return phone calls.
"I wish I could comment on this, but I can't because we are involved in collective bargaining talks regarding these issues right now," said Dan Norman, president of Irving, Texas-based G2 Secure Staff, which oversees service workers for American Airlines.

Locally, city and airport officials are drafting a policy that would give Los Angeles World Airports greater oversight of contracts and training standards for private companies that hire janitors, security screeners, baggage handlers and those who assist disabled passengers at LAX.

The proposal would allow LAWA to examine a subcontractor's relationship with workers, training techniques, prior experience at major airports and quality of service offered to passengers. The airlines would then select subcontractors from a list of private companies preapproved by LAWA.

The policy change was suggested following a report that found private firms subcontracted by the airlines offer inadequate training to the workers, and fail to replace faulty equipment used to transport disabled airport passengers.

"I have worked at the airport a long time, and I have seen the level of service get worse and worse," said Fanny Fuentes, who has worked for the last 12 years as a wheelchair attendant for Southwest Airlines.
"Sometimes we do not have enough wheelchair attendants to cover flights," she said. "That means disabled passengers and the elderly are sitting around waiting and almost miss their flights."

The Los Angeles airport commission is expected to consider the contractor oversight plan sometime this spring. The policy is already in effect at airports in San Francisco, Miami and Boston.

The proposal is being pushed by the Los Angeles Alliance for New Economy, which tried 10 years ago to require concessionaires at LAX to pay a living wage to their workers. The group had also tried to require LAX-area hotels to adopt the same policy in 2006.

"The airport has told us that they are ready to take steps to increase contractor oversight, which will improve working conditions for the employees," said Carolina Briones, a LAANE organizer. "We're very hopeful that it will move forward sometime soon."