Atlanta airport cleaners win minimum wage jump, from $8.50 to $12-15 per hour
For the last three Atlanta mayoral administrations, contract workers who clean Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport have been calling for higher wages.
After 13 years of mostly workers of color pushing, picketing and eventually threatening to strike for above poverty wages, airport cleaners will get a minimum of $12 to $15 dollars an hour. That’s up from a minimum of $8.50, according to the Service Employees International Union.
Still, workers tell WABE their fight isn’t over. They’re calling on airlines like Delta to ensure all airport workers, from the curb to the cabin, get the same raise.
Cynthia Hartfield, a cleaner at Atlanta’s airport for 39 years, told WABE she helped band other workers together — many who can barely afford to eat and support their families.
“You can’t do that with two kids on eight dollars an hour. It ain’t gonna happen,” Hartfield said. “Then you have some people out there working, and sleeping in the airport. You’ve got someone who’s out there working, and begging for food. It’s unreal. It’s well overdue.”
Chris Baumann is the regional director for Workers United’s Southern Region, part of the SEIU. He said it took the union’s contract nearly expiring and the threat of going on strike to force an ultimatum.
Baumann said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who formerly chaired the city council’s transportation committee, had supported the workers and listened to their struggle in the past. That included the Atlanta City Council passing a resolution last November that supported the $15 an hour minimum.
“We said look, out of due respect for you and city leadership, we want you to be aware of it,” Baumann said.
“Dickens said, hey, I’ve only been mayor for 42 days. Can you give me two more? And we said of course.”
Top Stories
