Workers at Westchester County Airport voted to join the Transport Workers Union of America, the largest airport workers union in the country.
Ramp and Senior Ramp Agents at the county-owned airport have been forced to work overtime.⁶⁴AvPorts, a contractor that operates the airport refused to hire more workers to address chronic staffing shortages.
“Today’s resounding vote sends a clear message to AvPorts; workers are fed up with bosses sticking it to them. The TWU will fight to fix staffing shortages and end the abuse of dangerous forced overtime” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “The TWU runs Westchester County’s transport systems. In addition to our newest airport members we represent School Bus Drivers, Bee-Line Bus Operators, and Metro-North workers.”
The Ramp and Senior Ramp Agents at Westchester County Airport work for six major carriers; Bahamas Air, JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Breeze Airways. The workers are trained on practices and procedures for all six airlines and perform additional overnight maintenance work in addition to their duties on the ramp.
Workers told the TWU that the airport was run like a sweatshop due to the consistent use of forced overtime and that no one was able to take time off work. Even senior workers with decades of experience were barred from ever taking vacation time around the holidays due to management’s refusal to hire more workers.
“These workers have been mistreated for years and getting a solid TWU contract that addresses these staffing issues is our top priority,” said TWU Organizing Director Angelo Cucuzza. “Management asks for ‘volunteers’ to work extra shifts every week, and if you don’t volunteer, you’re forced to work anyway. This is unacceptable and we will work to rectify these quality-of-life issues.”
The Ramp and Senior Ramp Agents will join TWU Local 504, which represents contract airport workers across the country. The TWU is the nation’s largest airport workers union, representing Ramp Agents, Flight Attendants, Maintenance Technicians, Dispatchers, and more.
