Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Urging/Supporting
Purpose: Supporting contracted Newark airport passenger
service workers
Additional Information:
body
WHEREAS, the Newark Municipal Council stands with contracted passenger service workers who work hard every day to make sure record numbers of travelers comfortably and safely arrive at and leave from Newark Liberty International Airport to other ports of call; and
WHEREAS, contracted Newark airport passenger service workers work just as hard as their counterparts at John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports; and
WHEREAS, these men and women deserve jobs that allow them to support their families and our economy with dignity; and
WHEREAS, many Newark Airport workers earn the state of New Jersey's minimum wage of $8.25 an hour, or $17,160 assuming a 40 hour work-week, 27% below the 2013 Federal Poverty Guidelines for a family of four; and
WHEREAS, many of these workers rely on public assistance despite full-time employment; and
WHEREAS, these workers are overwhelmingly people of color, including African Americans and Hispanic.
WHEREAS, the municipality of Newark has more African American and Hispanic residents than any other municipality in the state; and
WHEREAS, 28% of Newark residents live under the poverty level; and
WHEREAS, for major domestic carriers flying out of John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, paying contracted passenger service workers at Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark at a rate of $10.10/hour would cost less than half a percent of their 2012 total annual revenue; and
WHEREAS, Delta Airline, the #2 carrier in the region for passengers, recently announced that the airline will order that their contracted workers get a raise, and that the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King be a retroactive, paid holiday; and
WHEREAS, United Airline the #1carrier in the region, and the Newark's largest airline, controlling over 70% of Newark's passenger traffic; and
WHEREAS, United Airlines CEO Jeffery Smisek's 2012 total compensation was $9.6 million, including salary, bonuses, stock awards, and other compensation, and assuming a 40 hour work week, would make $4,628 an hour, 561 times what a minimum wage airport worker at Newark Airport would make; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, the five current principal officers at United - including Mr. Smisek made $20.6 million combined; and
WHEREAS, United Airlines reported $1.1 billion in 2013 profit, excluding special charges, an 84% increase over 2012; and
WHEREAS, United received over $471 million in revenue in 2013 for baggage fees alone.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
The Newark Municipal Council calls on The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey the operator and all the carriers at Newark Liberty International Airport to join us in committing to create good jobs in Newark by:
1 Providing a living wage that sustains our families and our communities.
2. Guaranteeing access to quality affordable healthcare for contracted Newark airport passenger service workers and their families.
3. Allowing workers to improve their lives by organizing with the union of their choice
The Newark Municipal Council is calling on these corporations to be accountable to our communities and ensure economic security in our city.
STATEMENT
This resolution calls supports the Newark airport passenger service workers request to The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for a wage increase from $8.25/hour to 10.10/hour and the right to join a union.