NEW YORK ()
Airport workers demanding $15 an hour have gone on strike at five major airports in the U.S.
The workers, mostly cabin and airport cleaners, were picketing Thursday morning at John F. Kennedy and Laguardia airports in New York City, and airports in Newark, N.J., Boston and Philadelphia, according to the Service Employees International Union.
The SEIU tweeted videos of workers picketing outside terminals at JFK International, Newark Liberty International and Philadelphia International airports.
At JetBlue’s Terminal 5 at JFK, the workers brandished signs saying “on strike over unfair labor practices” with the old TWA terminal visible in the background.
The strike was expected to involve thousands of workers, but it was not immediately clear how many were striking.
The union organizing the strikes, the SEIU, said Thursday morning that it was too soon to know what kind of affect the work stoppage was having on airport operations.
The workers are subcontracted by outside companies to work with various airlines, including JetBlue, Delta and United. They’re striking for new contracts, which include medical benefits and hourly wages of $15 an hour.
In Fort Lauderdale, another airport where a strike was planned, cabin and airport cleaners were to be joined by baggage handlers, ramp workers, wheelchair attendants, and janitors.
Picket lines started forming Wednesday outside airport terminals.
A JetBlue spokesperson said the company “worked with our partners to ensure there are no flight interruptions.”
United said its vendors have contingency plans to ensure customer service will not be interrupted.
Delta could not be immediately reached for comment.
The head of the New York-New Jersey Port Authority, which runs the New York City airports, demanded last year that airport workers’ wages be raised to $10.10 an hour. But workers insist that is insufficient.
Strikers include cabin and airport cleaners at both JFK and LaGuardia airports. They are protesting their employers Roma and Ultimate Aircraft, which are subcontracted by JetBlue, and Gate Serve, which is subcontracted by Delta.
One of the cabin cleaners who was ready to strike is 41-year-old Jean Timmer.
He began working for Ultimate Aircraft in September and told CNNMoney he makes $10.10 an hour working the overnight shift.
“It’s not enough to support our families,” he said.
Timmer, who has one daughter, stressed the importance of earning a living wage and securing medical benefits.
“Safety concerns are a really big deal and if we get injured who’s going to pay for that — we are,” Timmer said.
He said he chose to work at JFK because there are a lot of opportunities for advancement, but stressed that current working conditions were unbearable.
“We’re not getting our fair share,” Timmer said. “These companies can’t function without workers and yet they don’t want to treat us fairly.”
–CNNMoney’s Rob Mclean and Jackie Wattles contributed to this report.
