What would Francis do? Vote for workers

I'M SARINA SANTOS, a wife and mother of four children. I worked at the Philadelphia International Airport as a baggage handler, making $7.25 an hour for a subcontractor called PrimeFlight. A few weeks ago, I had the honor of meeting with Cardinal Rodriguez of Honduras, a close adviser to the pope on low-wage worker issues. A few days after that meeting, I was terminated from my job.

Living is even harder now than it was before. The bills don't stop coming because I'm not working. The kids will need watching now that school is out. Why should workers like me bear this kind of burden? We want to do better, but subcontractors at the airport have stripped us of our dignity and respect.

I fight because I have friends at the airport with young children who are struggling. They face troubling working conditions that should have no place at our airport, Philadelphia's airport. Time and again others have faced intimidation from our employer when standing up for what's right. Some can't even afford to take their children to the sights in their own city because they can't pay the transit fare to bring them to Center City. We are just trying to put food on the table.

I worked a grueling job, sometimes lifting 50-pound bags; I got no paid sick days or affordable benefits. I lived paycheck to paycheck and struggled to make ends meet. It's worse now that I am not working. When I wake up, I don't know what's awaiting me, which bill collector is going to call. What need I won't be able to meet.

We are mothers and fathers . . . we just want to live a decent life. We aren't asking for much, just respect and dignity.

In the face of inaction on the part of the airport contractors or the airlines that employ them, tomorrow our allies at City Hall have the opportunity to side with thousands of hardworking men and women by voting yes on the Responsible Permitting Bill, legislation that could protect workers from irresponsible airport contractors and put an end to the lack of transparency that rules the airline subcontracting system at the airport.

Speaking about dignity on the job, respect and family sustaining wages: Pope Francis, who soon will visit Philadelphia, recently said "I would like to encourage those in public office to make every effort to give new impetus to employment. This means caring for the dignity of the person." Will City Council hear him? Will City Council hear us?