Airline Ends Wage Impasse
In a victory for living wage advocates, including Mayor Richard Riordan, United Airlines indicated that it will comply with the city law, essentially ending a two-year standoff over the pay of its workers at Los Angeles International Airport, city officials announced Monday.
Workers at the United terminals, who are employed by subcontractors of the airline, have protested in recent months, arguing that they should be given raises and health benefits for their security baggage screening, janitorial and other duties.
Living wage supporters applauded the airline’s action, saying the announcement was a surprise because the airline has been reluctant at best to comply with city regulations across the country.
“This is of national significance,” said Madeline Janis-Aparicio, director of the Los Angeles Living Wage Coalition, which sought the law and now monitors its implementation. “This is good news if these workers are going to get a raise and some health benefits and more respect on the job. It’s about time. It’s a good step forward.”
The city’s living wage law, which requires municipal contractors to pay workers $7.25 an hour with specified benefits or $8.50 without benefits, has largely been ignored by the airlines. United becomes the first to publicly announce that it will abide by the law, the law’s advocates say.
Matt Triaca, a spokesman for United Airlines, said the airline conducted “an exhaustive” study on the city’s living wage law and concluded that it made good business sense to abide by it.
“It was in our best interest, with a huge operation in Los Angeles, to put this behind us and focus on new projects,” Triaca said from Chicago. “While we may not agree with these ordinances nationwide, we thought Los Angeles’ was a reasonable one.”
According to the mayor’s office, United Airlines Chairman and Chief Executive Gerald Greenwald indicated that the airline would comply beginning Thursday, the same day that amendments to the law take effect.
Riordan, who has said he has encouraged the airlines to comply with the law for two years, said in a statement Monday that United “has today shown the kind of leadership which will make a difference in the lives of hard-working people. By supporting a living wage, United Airlines is showing that their business practices make more than business sense--they make moral sense as well.”
While living wage advocates praised the development, they also raised some suspicions about the mayor’s motivations in making the announcement Monday afternoon. They complained that the mayor’s staff kept most of the law’s major supporters in the dark about it--including City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg and Airports Department General Manager Jack Driscoll. Both are praised by advocates for pushing the airlines to abide by the law.
However, Riordan has said in the past that paying security screeners $5.25 an hour is “sinful,” and that he firmly believes that the airlines should be complying with the law.
Riordan vetoed the law two years ago, but that was overturned by the City Council. Then, in a change of heart, Riordan recently allowed several strong amendments to the law to take effect.
Baggage screeners and others at the United terminals in particular have held rallies and made numerous appearances at City Hall to fight for better wages and benefits. They have made emotional appeals, saying to support their families they are forced to work two and three jobs.
The question now is when the workers will see raises in their paychecks and whether the airlines have given up their rights to sue the city to block the law.
United, which operates out of Terminals 6, 7 and 8 at LAX, is awaiting a new lease by the city. By abiding with the law, the airline is in a better political position to secure that lease.
As their advocates praised the airline, the workers also said they hope that United is as forthcoming when they unionize.
“We hope United is a leader in that area as well,” said Maryanne Hohenstein, organizing director for the Service Employees International Union Local 1877.
