CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The City of Charlotte is working on a new 10 and a half year lease for the airport.
Simply put, the city is the landlord and the airlines are the tenants.
If a deal is reached the city will provide $2.1 billion dollars in airport upgrades — that would include new gates and a tunnel. Airport workers are using the opportunity to be a part of the conversation hoping to get workplace protections included in the agreement.
“You can build a world class airport with tunnels and other, you know, longer runways. Um, but you have to think about the workforce that’s working in the airport too,” Catherine Poneros co-director of organizing for Local SEIU 32BJ said.
Catherine Poneros works for the labor union that represents the airport workers who are employed by ABM and Prospect. The workers do jobs like escort wheelchair passengers and clean planes and bathrooms. Union members want better working conditions and higher pay.
Fifty-five year old cabin cleaner Colleen Coates collapsed and died on a hot jet bridge in September. Last December, we interviewed an airport worker who was living in a storage unit because he couldn’t afford housing.
“They can’t afford healthcare. They make on average between 12 and $16, and can’t afford a one bedroom,” Poneros said. “The airlines are making money. People are traveling at unprecedented levels.”
Airport workers and community members want council to add language into the lease agreement that requires airport employee wage transparency and sets workplace standards.
Some council members are hesitant to make demands of the airlines for fear the state would try to take over the airport, like it attempted to do in 2013.
“The city receives a lot of money from the airport,” Councilmember Joi Mayo said. “As district three rep, that’s something that I’m really delving into, like what are the actual financial aspects when it comes to the airport?”
Councilmember Joi Mayo says the lease is an opportunity to look at how to support all workers at city facilities.
“I think this is a bigger conversation than just the airport,” Councilmember Mayo said. “We have so many facilities with the city. We have Bojangles, we have the Convention Center, so how are we protecting all subcontractors?”
The Budget Governance and Intergovernmental Relations committee will meet to talk about the lease and their options sometime next week. City Council is expected to vote on the lease November 9th.
Organizers and labor unions are hosting a townhall to get public input about the airport lease on Tuesday October 27 at the Goodwill Opportunity Center from 6pm-7:30pm.
