The key to safer airports? Better wages and working conditions

The term “airport safety” often conjures up images of TSA lines, passengers removing shoes, and holding their hands overhead for body scanners. These safety measures for passengers are certainly necessary, but there is also a less visible world of thousands of ground-based airport workers who contribute to the safety of passengers and crew every day. While there is plenty of evidence to show that pay increases for these workers would help keep airports safe, most still receive poverty wages.

As Congress considers reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Act, leaders of both parties agree that safety should be a critical focus. The White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have both emphasized raising airport workers’ wages as a high priority for FAA reauthorization. These go hand in hand.

Ground-based airport workers are essential to keeping our nation’s airports running. This includes cleaners, baggage handlers, wheelchair agents, ramp workers, and concessionaires. Wages in airport operations have significantly lagged behind pay in other industries since the early 1980s when airlines and airports started to contract out many of these jobs. Outsourcing enabled airlines and airports to reduce labor costs and allowed employers to more easily lay workers off during slow periods. 

The lack of public regulations means airline service contractors keep wages as low as possible in order to compete. That is true even when wages are up in most sectors. Between 1990 and 2012, average weekly wages for airport operations fell in real terms by 14 percent, even though wages rose across all industries by 18 percent. Between 2015 and 2019, half of airport cleaners and more than a third of baggage handlers earned less than $16.20 an hour — the minimum wage for federal contractors. 

Not surprisingly, turnover is high among airport workers as many seek other employment for even a small pay increase. This means that there are greater numbers of inadequately trained and less experienced workers on the job who are often less familiar with safety and security procedures. That means that they are less able to anticipate and identify potential hazards, and more uncertain about where to take their complaints or how to report problems. This has outsized impacts on passengers with disabilities, who often need the help of trained professionals to get in and out of their seats safely, and transport their crucial equipment — like wheelchairs — so it arrives in one piece. 

A less experienced workforce also means more accidents and security violations are likely to occur, which could undermine airport security procedures in the event of an emergency. There has been a recent call for more trained security officers at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, following reports of a disturbing 670 violent incidents involving unruly passengers between January and May of this year. A lack of trained airport service personnel can have serious consequences beyond contributing to longer lines and travel chaos, which is why it is important to ensure that these are good jobs that attract and retain workers.

The notion of mandating higher labor standards for ground-based airport workers to improve safety is not new. Almost 25 years ago, in 1999, the San Francisco International Airport created a Quality Standards Program that set wage and benefit standards for airport workers with the specific purpose of enhancing safety and security at the airport. When wage and benefits rose and labor standards were enforced, employee turnover fell by 60 percent among the low-wage airline service contractors. Airport employers reported significant and immediate improvements in employee performance, morale, and customer service, along with reduced grievances, disciplinary actions, absenteeism, and no equipment damage. 

Airport employees play a crucial role in safeguarding airport security as well as ensuring overall safety by guarding against in-flight emergencies, crashes, and runway collisions. A federal policy setting higher labor standards at United States airports would serve to stabilize and improve pay for ground-based airport workers, reduce worker turnover, and enhance the safety and security of our airports. Writing higher labor standards into policy would not just benefit workers and their families, but also passengers and the broader public. The bipartisan FAA reauthorization bill now before Congress offers the opportunity to do just that. 

Ken Jacobs is chair of the UC Berkeley Labor Center which conducts research and education on issues related to labor and employment and works with unions, government, and employers to develop innovative policies and programs.