Airport Workers stand up to Port of Seattle – Don’t give Anti-Union lawyer a say in deciding our future!

January 24, 2011

50 UNITE HERE Local 8 members working at SeaTac Airport were joined today by retail workers, janitors, passenger service workers and supporters from the labor and faith community to send a strong message to the Port of Seattle that they will not sit by while the Port puts their jobs at risk.

To develop a concessions program at the airport that benefits workers, businesses and the Port of Seattle alike, a balanced approach is needed. Airport workers are proposing a sustainable concessions model that creates quality jobs allowing families to thrive while businesses are successful and the Port of Seattle’s financial interests are protected.

Unfortunately, the Port of Seattle has been unwilling to make any meaningful movement on the issue of workforce stability and job security for airport workers in the past year. Instead, hospitality, retail and janitorial workers were shocked to find out that the Port Commission had hired anti-union attorney Mark Hutcheson as outside legal counsel to advise them on the future of workers at SeaTac Airport.

We are proud to have UFCW Local 21, SEIU Local 6, Faith Action Network, Teamsters Locals 117 & 174, the Martin Luther King County Labor Council, the King County Building Trades Council, Puget Sound Sage and Working Washington and many others stand with us in solidarity fighting for the future of our community at SeaTac Airport.