Airport workers strike ahead of busy holiday travel days

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WSMV) – During one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, employees at Charlotte Douglas International Airport have decided to strike against what workers call unlivable wages.

Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services voted Friday to authorize the strike in North Carolina, according to a spokesperson.

Officials with Service Employees International Union announced the impending strike in a statement early Monday, saying the workers would demand “an end to poverty wages and respect on the job during the holiday travel season.”

ABM and Prospect Airport Services contract with American Airlines to provide services including cleaning the inside of airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs.

Workers say they previously raised the alarm about their growing inability to afford basic necessities, including food and housing. They described living paycheck to paycheck, unable to cover expenses like car repairs while performing jobs that keep countless planes running on schedule.

Most of the works earn between $12.50 and $19 an hour, which is well below the living wage for a single person with no children in the Charlotte area, union officials said.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials have said this holiday travel season is expected to be the busiest on record, with an estimated 1.02 million passengers departing the airport between last Thursday and the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Nashville International Airport (BNA) also expects an increase in travel during the Thanksgiving holiday week. BNA projects the peak days this week to be November 27 and December 1.

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