For Immediate Release: November 13, 2024
Media Contact: Lisa Thomas, lisa@alignny.org, (347) 415-6431
ALIGN responds to NY Airport Workers Minimum Wage Proposal
ALBANY, NY – In response to the proposal from Governor Hochul, Governor Murphy, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey for airport worker wages, ALIGN (The Alliance for a Greater New York) released the following statement:
“Our leaders are right to increase wages for airport workers, ensuring they keep up with rising prices and guaranteeing $25 an hour by 2032. This is a huge win for our partners at 32BJ and for New York, and we urge Governor Hochul to deliver on her commitment to improve worker benefits equitably across airports. But airport workers aren’t the only ones who need a raise — the poverty rates in Buffalo and Rochester are among the highest in the nation at 27%, while more than half of New York City is low-income or below the poverty line. And while the minimum wage went up this year to $16 in NYC and $15 in the rest of the state, wages are still lagging far behind what it costs the average family to afford the basics.
Furthermore, increasing concession pricing caps so that airport vendors can charge 15% more than ‘street prices’ and adding a 3% employee benefits surcharge means already-overburdened consumers will foot the bill before their wages have had a chance to catch up. New York needs a higher statewide minimum wage for all New Yorkers; with more spending power, workers will put those dollars back into the economy and boost our businesses. In a year when voters cited the economy as their number one issue, New York’s leaders must take bold, transformative action on affordability so that working families, businesses, and our economy can thrive,” said Tal Frieden, ALIGN Campaign Manager for the Raise Up NY coalition.
About ALIGN
ALIGN (Alliance for a Greater New York) brings together labor, climate, and community organizations for a more just, sustainable New York. Working at the intersection of economic and climate justice, ALIGN builds coalitions with those most impacted and uplifts worker and community voices to fight for dignity in the workplace and a just path to a renewable energy economy for all.