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Letters: Philly airport workers mistreated

The fight for livable wages and appropriate working conditions has reached Philadelphia International Airport ("Bumpy skies," Wednesday). I marched with the airport workers who walked off the job on Tuesday. Their concerns about low wages, no benefits, and mistreatment are real, and they're urgent.

ISSUE | PHILA. AIRPORT

Workers mistreated

The fight for livable wages and appropriate working conditions has reached Philadelphia International Airport ("Bumpy skies," Wednesday). I marched with the airport workers who walked off the job on Tuesday. Their concerns about low wages, no benefits, and mistreatment are real, and they're urgent.

The city got behind these wheelchair attendants, sky caps, aircraft cabin cleaners, and bag handlers in 2014 and overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure to raise the wage. In a clear repudiation of the will of the voters, the airline subcontractors took two years to fully implement the raise. And now those contractors are finding new ways to stick it to their employees, cutting hours, shifting schedules, and violating the workers' rights.

Change at the airport has been obstructed by irresponsible subcontractors such as Prospect, PrimeFlight, and McGinn Security. It's no wonder that airport workers are using any means necessary to improve their lives.

Vincent J. Hughes, state senator, Philadelphia