Charlotte, NC – Service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport have gone on strike during a busy week of Thanksgiving travel to protest what they say are unlivable wages.
Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services voted Friday to authorize the work stoppage in North Carolina, which a spokesperson said began Monday morning.
Service Employees International Union officials announced the upcoming strike in a statement early Monday, saying workers would “demand an end to poverty wages and respect in the workplace during the holiday season.”
Erik Verduzco/AP
ABM and Prospect Airport Services have contracted with American Airlines to provide services including aircraft interior cleaning, trash removal and escorting passengers in wheelchairs.
Workers say they previously raised alarms about their growing inability to afford basic necessities, including food and housing. They described living paycheck to paycheck, unable to cover expenses such as car repairs while performing tasks that kept countless planes running on schedule.
“We are on strike today because this is our last resort. We cannot continue to live like this,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said in a statement. “We are taking action because our families cannot survive.”
Several hundred workers were expected to walk off the job and continue the work stoppage throughout Monday.
Most of them earn between $12.50 and $19 an hour, which is well below the living wage for a single person without children in the Charlotte region, union officials said.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials have said this holiday season is expected to be the busiest ever, with an estimated 1.02 million passengers leaving the airport between last Thursday and the Monday after Thanksgiving.
In addition to being fired from their jobs, striking workers plan to organize a rally at 11 a.m. and a “Strikesgiving lunch” at 1 p.m. in place of the Thanksgiving meal that many of the workers will be unable to afford later this week. officials said.
“Airport workers make leisure travel possible by keeping airports safe, clean and operational,” the union said. “Despite their crucial role in the profits enjoyed by major corporations, many airport service workers have to work two to three jobs to make ends meet.”
ABM said it would take steps to minimize disruptions from demonstrations.
“At ABM, we appreciate the hard work our team members put in every day to support our customers and help keep spaces clean and people healthy,” the company said in a statement last week.
Prospect Airport Services said last week that the company recognizes the seriousness of the possibility of a strike during the busy holiday season.
