A group of about 50 workers and community supporter rallied at IAH airport today to call on the city to address the problem of poverty wage jobs in our airport.

As the debate rages on between airlines, politicians, and community groups over the proposed expansion of Hobby Airport, one group has been largely ignored: the passenger service workers at both Hobby and IAH who paid as little as $12,500 a year, far below the poverty level. They have no access to affordable health care, and some workers are even paid below the legal minimum wage.

“I clean airplanes at Bush Airport,” says Stephanie Polk, a passenger service worker employed by Airserv Corporation at IAH. “Airplanes get extremely hot, but we get written up for having a bottle of water. Some of my coworkers have passed out because of the 100-plus degree temperatures.”

Some of the lowest-paid airport workers were employed by PrimeFlight. The Houston Chronicle recently reported that PrimeFlight lost its contract with United after the U.S. Department of Labor launched an investigation on the company for labor violations and it was suspended from the Gulf Coast Workforce Board’s hiring incentive program. On May 15, Airserv officially began to take over passenger service work from PrimeFlight for United Airlines. And workers report that the contractor has already said it plans to cut hours and positions.

“Airport workers make the airport run, but we are living paycheck to paycheck,” Polk says. “Before we move on the expansion, let’s tackle this problem first.”

• Illinois Member Newsletter Spring 2012 (English-Spanish)
• Illinois Member Newsletter Spring 2012 (Polish-Yugo)
• Indiana Newsletter Spring 2012 (English-Spanish)
• Michigan Newsletter Spring 2012 (English-Spanish)
• Ohio Newsletter Spring 2012 (English-Spanish)
• Wisconsin Newsletter Spring 2012 (English-Spanish)
  

Paloma Martinez, (832) 493-4839, martinezp@seiu1.org

As city council debates over proposed airport expansion…

Airport Workers and Community Supporters to Rally to Call on the City to Fix Poverty Jobs

Houston—As the debate rages on between airlines, politicians, and community groups over the proposed expansion of Hobby Airport, one group has been largely ignored. Passenger service workers at both Hobby and IAH are paid as little as $12,500 a year—far below the poverty level—with no access to affordable health care. Some workers are even paid below the legal minimum wage. A group of about 50 workers and community members plan to rally at IAH airport tomorrow to call on the city to address the problem of poverty wage jobs in our airport.

Some of the lowest-paid airport workers were employed by PrimeFlight. The Houston Chronicle recently reported that PrimeFlight lost its contract with United after the U.S. Department of Labor launched an investigation on the company for labor violations and it was suspended from the Gulf Coast Workforce Board’s hiring incentive program. On May 15, Airserv officially begins to take over passenger service work from PrimeFlight for United Airlines. And the contractor plans to cut hours and positions.

The current contracting system at the airport incentivizes cutting corners and paying low wages. Without a policy that establishes standards and oversight for airport contractors, these jobs won’t improve. The proposed expansion of Hobby airport could strengthen Houston’s neighborhoods and economy by creating good jobs with benefits. Or, the proposed expansion could result in more low-wage, no-benefit jobs that contribute to poverty, foreclosures, hunger, and blight in our communities. Airport workers say the outcome depends on whether workers’ voices are heard and the problem of poverty wage jobs is tackled as part of the process.

WHAT: Rally for good jobs at Houston’s airports

WHEN: Tomorrow—Tuesday, May 15^th

12PM-2PM (best time to come will be between 1-2)

WHERE: Terminal C ticketing level (by the elevators) at IAH

WHO: At least 50 airport workers and community members

The Supreme Court is weighing whether the law’s requirement that most Americans have health insurance is constitutional, and if not, how much of the law to overturn. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the likely Republican nominee for president in November’s election, has said he would repeal the entire law “as quickly as possible” should he take office. According to Bloomberg News, the court may preserve the drug benefit for seniors, which closes the gap in Medicare’s coverage for prescription medicines known as the “doughnut hole”. About 78 percent of people polled by the Kaiser Family Foundation in April said they held a favorable view of that provision. “We have a dollar figure in hand on how much more seniors are likely to pay if health care reform is struck down or repealed,” said Barbara Easterling, President of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “It is just plain wrong to say the repeal would benefit seniors.” stated Easterling.

“There used to be a time when I could go on vacation, but now I can’t. People are losing their jobs. Houses are falling down and no one is doing anything. That is why we all have to stick together and improve working people’s lives.” – Emmanuel Taylor, a janitor at the McNamara Terminal in the Detroit Metro Airport and member of the bargaining committee

With half of Detroit’s children living in poverty, Detroit’s working families are working harder than ever to secure a better future that seems further out of reach every day. Yet Detroit is home to 92,100 millionaires, and the 15 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Detroit made $33 billion in profits last year.

“We will never succeed as a nation unless everyone has a fair shot at achieving the dream that we all hold sacred. But an America without a middle class is nothing more than a nightmare for hundreds of thousands hard working families who just want an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.” – U.S. Congressman Gary Peters

Detroit’s janitors clean offices, industrial plants, airports and city buildings. They clean buildings of major corporations such as JP Morgan Chase, General Electric, Ford and General Motors. The janitors make just $22,817 annually on average – an income so low that many qualify for food and housing assistance.

“The richest 1% in Detroit have been helping themselves to bigger and bigger profits while Detroit neighborhoods suffer from poverty wages and neglect. Big corporations made billions last year – now is the time for them to create good middle class jobs for Detroit and help build an economy that works for all of us.” – Tom Balanoff, President of SEIU Local 1

Bargaining a new union contract with fair wage increases will enable Detroit janitors to provide for their families, but that alone won’t restore balance to the economy. That’s why Detroit janitors are joining with workers across the city, with clergy and community leaders, and with the rest of the 99% to call on banks and corporate executives to do their part to fix our economy—to create good jobs, raise wages, and pay their fair share in taxes.

According to CMS, in the first three months of 2012 alone, more than 220,000 individuals saved and average of $837 on the prescription drugs they purchased after they  hit the prescription drug donut hole, for a total of $184.5 million in savings.  The federal agency noted that in 2010 and 2011, more than 5.1 million people with Medicare saved over $3.2 billion on prescription drugs.

“This is yet another reminder that President Obama’s health law is good for seniors.  But too many seniors do not know this – we must redouble our efforts to educate our friends and neighbors,” said Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director Edward F. Coyle.

Read more information from the latest fact sheet on this issue.

DETROIT – With their union contract set to expire July 31, hundreds of Detroit-area janitors and community leaders rallied at the SEIU Local 1 Union Hall in Detroit. The janitors and their supporters called on the richest 1% to do their part to create and protect good middle class jobs for Detroit. The convention kicked off the janitors’ contract negotiations, which begin in mid-May and impact more than 1,000 janitors in SEIU Local 1 and their families.

“The richest 1% in Detroit have been helping themselves to bigger and bigger profits while Detroit neighborhoods suffer from poverty wages and neglect,” said Tom Balanoff, President of SEIU Local 1. “Big corporations made billions last year – now is the time for them to create good middle class jobs for Detroit and help build an economy that works for all of us.”

With half of Detroit’s children living in poverty, Detroit’s working families are working harder than ever to secure a better future that seems further out of reach every day. Yet Detroit is home to 92,100 millionaires, and the 15 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Detroit made $33 billion in profits last year.

“There used to be a time when I could go on vacation, but now I can’t,” says Emmanuel Taylor, a janitor at the McNamara Terminal in the Detroit Metro Airport. “People are losing their jobs. Houses are falling down and no one is doing anything. That is why we all have to stick together and improve working people’s lives.”

Detroit’s janitors clean offices, industrial plants, airports and city buildings. They clean buildings of major corporations such as JP Morgan Chase, General Electric, Ford and General Motors. The janitors make just $22,817 annually on average – an income so low that many qualify for food and housing assistance.

“We will never succeed as a nation unless everyone has a fair shot at achieving the dream that we all hold sacred,” said U.S. Congressman Gary Peters. “But an America without a middle class is nothing more than a nightmare for hundreds of thousands hard working families who just want an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.”

Bargaining a new union contract with fair wage increases will enable Detroit janitors to provide for their families, but that alone won’t restore balance to the economy. That’s why Detroit janitors are joining with workers across the city, with clergy and community leaders, and with the rest of the 99% to call on banks and corporate executives to do their part to fix our economy—to create good jobs, raise wages, and pay their fair share in taxes.

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SEIU Local 1 unites 50,000 property service workers in the central United States, including janitors, security officers and residential doormen.  Together we work to build strength for all working people, on the job and in our communities.

“I feel good about the agreement we came to. We protected our health care and pensions and won better wages,” says Joyce Rivers, a janitor who works at Key Tower. “For working people in Cleveland, a little more money can help a whole lot.”

On Saturday, April 28, janitors held a ratification meeting at the Cleveland SEIU Local 1 office. The janitors in attendance voted unanimously to accept the new contract.