Advocates Demand Ordinance to Protect Airport Workers

Nearly 50 people gathered outside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center Tuesday demanding fair wages, benefits and working conditions for Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) workers.

US Rep. Alma Adams, Charlotte City council member Tiawana Brown and NC Rep. Terry Brown joined airport workers, union reps and advocates in urging the city to introduce the Charlotte Acting for Safety and Efficiency (CASE) Ordinance, which they say would help reduce turnover and improve safety at CLT.

The proposed CASE ordinance would set a minimum wage, benefits and training requirements for airport workers employed by airline contractors and businesses that are permitted by the city to operate at the airport.

A number of workers spoke about their strenuous work conditions at CLT during Tuesday’s rally, pleading for better pay and more support from the city. 

Lashonda Barber, a contracted tarmac truck driver for American Airlines (AA), said workers don’t stay with CLT because the pay is too low and the working environment is “terrible,” with long hours lifting heavy trash bags causing strain on workers’ bodies and no air conditioning available in her truck in the summer.

“We don’t even have enough drivers,” she said. “I barely have enough time to take breaks, eat, even drink water because I’m so busy. With all the hours I work, I still don’t make enough.”

Last week, CLT was named the sixth busiest airport in the world, according to the Airports Council International’s 2024 preliminary rankings. The airport generated nearly $40 billion in economic impact to the Carolinas, representing around 5% of NC’s gross domestic product.  

Last year, 32BJ, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), found through a survey of workers that 43% of AA cabin cleaners at CLT faced housing insecurity and over half of its contracted wheelchair agents ran out of money for food. Many also reported falling short on making ends meet despite working two or three jobs.

“If we were paid better, had real benefits, experienced drivers like myself would stay. My coworkers would stay,” Barber said. “This would be a job people could see themselves doing until retirement.”

Organizers zero in on American Airlines

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is the second largest hub for the world’s largest airline, American Airlines, which is responsible for 88% of all flights in and out of the airport, aviation expert Bill McGee said Tuesday.

Like most airlines operating out of CLT, American Airlines utilizes third-party contractors such as Prospect and ABM to hire out much of its on-the-ground workforce including those responsible for food service and cleaning the airplanes between each flight. 

When Queen City Nerve reached out to American Airlines for a comment on Tuesday’s rally or the proposed ordinance, a spokesperson stated that the airline did not have “authority to comment” because the contracted workers are not team members with or employed by the airline itself. 

However, SEIU organizers explained Tuesday that the airlines benefit from using these low-bid contractors to drive down wages and benefits. 

“By forcing contractors to compete for business based on who can do the job cheapest, airlines like American are directly responsible for the poverty pay, lack of benefits, and instability faced by the airport workforce,” read an SEIU release leading up to Tuesday’s rally. “This deliberate race to the bottom has left workers struggling to survive, while jeopardizing safety, service quality, and passenger experience.”

The lack of airline competition at CLT only makes this issue worse, McGee warned. 

“Low wages create high turnover, weak training and increases in accidents, customer service meltdowns and security breaches,” he said. 

In 2023, the International Air Transport Association stated that 60% of ground handling operators don’t have enough qualified staff to “ensure smooth operations.” 

“This is directly tied to American Airlines and its total domination of CLT without any meaningful competition, thereby taking advantage of the workforce,” McGee said. “In turn, subpar working conditions generate threats to safety, both inside and outside the terminal.”

Although AA produced $54 billion in revenue in 2024, a significant amount of its contracted workers still live below the poverty line.

“Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a major economic and transportation center for the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County,” Congresswoman Adams said Tuesday. “But it’s only possible because of the tireless, dedicated work of our airport employees like the men and women who are here with us today.”

“Without them, not a single plane would leave those runways,” she continued. “But despite these workers taking care of us… they don’t receive the same treatment.”

Read more: Police Arrest 5 as Airport Workers March for Better Wages, Work Conditions (2023)

32BJ SEIU will hold another rally outside of the Government Center on Monday, April 28, before Charlotte City Council’s scheduled business meeting.