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A push for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, DC Airport Security Guards, DC Law Enforcement, DC Security, DC Security Guards, DC Security Officers, Dulles International airports, fair living wages, Fight for 15, Fight For 15 Washington DC, Law Enforcement Officers Security Unions (LEOSU-DC) Washington DC, LEOSU Washington DC, LEOSU-DC, Living Wage, living-wage policy Washington DC, low-paid workers, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, MWAA, national campaign for better pay and benefits, Reagan National Airport, Security DC, Security Guards Washington DC, Security Service Washington DC, Special Police Officer Jobs Washington DC, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, Unions for Security Guards Washington DC, Unions for Special Police Washington DC, Washington DC Area Security Guards, Woman Caught Trying to Take Gun on Flight at Reagan National, Workers Rights
FIGHT FOR 15 : A push for a $15-an-hour minimum wage for the lowest-paid airport workers across the United States has landed in Washington DC.
Workers at Reagan National and Dulles International airports have joined a growing national campaign for better pay and benefits, bringing attention to hourly wages that are as low as $6.75, which force many of those who keep the airports running into working two or three jobs to sustain their families.
“Your rent goes up every year, but they never increase your salary,” said John Kankum, a baggage handler who makes $8.50 an hour at National.
Following action at other U.S. airports where the workers’ struggle has led to protests, marches and strikes, Washington-area workers rallied last week, promising a fight over the next few months for “fair living wages.”
The low-paid workers hold critical service jobs — keeping terminals and plane cabins clean, moving bags and transporting people with disabilities. There are more than 2,000 such workers at National and as many as 4,200 at Dulles.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which oversees both airports, has a living-wage policy that applies to airport contracts, but it does not apply to companies that contract directly with individual airlines.
For example, an MWAA contract for unarmed security services sets an hourly wage of $13.65, spokesman Christopher Paolino said.
“For well over a decade, MWAA has required living wages on labor-intensive Airports Authority service contracts at the airports. Possible changes to the current living-wage policy are under review,” he said.
He declined to specify what that review might entail.
The Law Enforcement Officers Security Unions (LEOSU-DC) Washington DC Stands with the Security Guards working at both Reagan National and Dulles International airports in their Fight for 15 as well as all workers across the United States.
A Warrenton, Virginia, woman tried to take a handgun on a plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Saturday, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
TSA officials spotted the unloaded .22 caliber handgun in her carry-on bag when it went through the X-ray machine at a security checkpoint. The woman said she did not want to leave the firearm at her residence because she was moving, according to the TSA.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority cited her on a weapons charge. Airport operations were not affected, officials said.
It was the 11th gun detected at Reagan National Airport this year, the TSA said. Fourteen guns were detected at the airport in 2014.
Firearms, ammunition and other weapons are not allowed in carry-on bags. Firearms may be allowed in checked bags if they are in a locked, hard-side case and unloaded, and declared to the airline.