Airport Workers Tell Port Commission: Protect our Jobs!
On January 27th, a delegation of over 30 concessions workers at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport attended the monthly Port of Seattle Commission with an important message: protect our family wage jobs.
While SeaTac’s Proposition 1 received national media attention for its requirement that workers in the airport and hospitality industries in SeaTac receive a $15/hour minimum wage, it also provided other important benefits, such as mandated paid sick days and worker retention.
Worker retention means that if a new company comes into SeaTac airport and takes over the contract for concessions, current employees will keep their jobs.
Bizu Weldechiakos has been a busser at Anthony’s restaurant in the airport for 7 years. He told the commission:
“I have dedicated my life to working at the airport. I believe I have earned the right to have job security. I have many friends here at the airport and they have families and dreams for the future. But those dreams cannot become a reality if our jobs are not secure.”
Jennifer Fulton, a server at the airport, spoke of wanting to send both her daughters to college, but not knowing if she would be able to afford it: “How can I tell one that I have the money to send her and the other one no?”
The Port of Seattle Commission has the authority to enact many of the provisions of Proposition 1 right now, including job security protections and paid sick days. Airport concessions workers will continue to push the Port of Seattle to enact these important provisions that are good for workers and good for SeaTac airport.