US airport workers protest

On January 15 in New York, amongst other cities, airport workers staged a protest to demand higher wages in one of several protests planned to mark the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

About 200 service workers blocked bus and car drivers by sitting down on a street bridge leading to New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The crowd was moved on, however, after only a few minutes, following the threat of arrest by police. Additionally about 100 non-unionized airport workers at Philadelphia Airport marched silently through four terminals to a designated ‘free speech zone’ where they held a rally accusing contractors of disregarding minimum wage rules. Similar protests were planned elsewhere.

Most workers contracted by the three major airports serving New York City that work in cleaning, baggage handling and security (amounting to some 12,000 staff), earn US$9 per hour. The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which operates the airports, ruled last year that its contractors must pay at least US$10.10 an hour to most airport workers starting in February 2015, a Port Authority spokeswoman said. A US Representative and New York Democrat, called the economic disparities “a disease” and deplored the immorality of neglecting those that contribute to America’s economic strength.

Frontier to outsource a third of workforce

On January 16, Frontier Airlines announced that it will outsource about 1,300 workers in a move to replace these employees with contract workers. Frontier’s outsourcing will target about 1,160 jobs in Denver and another 140 in Milwaukee, affecting about a third of the carrier’s total workforce. Frontier plans to hire a unit of Swissport International to take over its ground operations at the Denver airport, its biggest hub by far. The airline also plans to outsource the jobs of 140 Milwaukee-based reservations workers to a privately held company based in Nashville. A Frontier spokesman stressed that the decision had nothing to do with the level of work provided by its employees and that those affected by the change would be given priority for interviews if they wished to seek employment with the contractors. He added that it was a “difficult but necessary decision to transition the management of these departments to business partners who specializes in these areas.”

United Airlines reinstates workers

On January 12, United announced they were considering cutting up to 2,000 jobs at 28 airports around the country and hiring a contractor to provide bag-handling and other services currently provided by these employees. This came as part of an effort to ensure its costs are competitive, to increase revenue and improve customer service. United Airlines Senior Vice President of Airport Operations Jon Roitman has since said that it will complete ‘insourcing’ work at nine large airports early summer 2015. Following discussions with leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, who represent the affected United employees, the airline plans to bring back other jobs that had been turned over to contractors. Since this announcement, the airline has decided to reinstate 40 previously furloughed ramp employees, after massive baggage-handling issues at Denver International Airport. The 40 recalled workers are among 159 United employees let go as part of budgetary cutbacks. “These recalled full-time workers will help us meet operational needs for spring and summer,” said airline spokesman Charles Hobart. United’s baggage operations were subject to criticism following passenger reports of lost luggage, delayed flights and waits lasting several hours for checked luggage to appear at baggage claim, though these problems are now starting to subside.

US partially lifts embargo with Cuba

The Obama administration has eased travel restrictions and opened a wide range of new export opportunities with Cuba, as they begin work on ending the five-decade Cuban embargo in 2015. Although only Congress has the authority to fully end the 54-year embargo, President Barack Obama announced that he would soften the restrictions, saying: “we are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date. When what you’re doing doesn’t work for fifty years, it’s time to try something new. ”

Following 18 months of secret discussions and the exchange of imprisoned spies, a new co-operative attitude developed between the two countries, meaning that almost any US organization can now offer trips to the location without the previously necessary paperwork and inspections that discouraged expansion of travel to Cuba in the past. The US Chamber of Commerce previously estimated that the embargo cost the US economy US$1.2bn per year in lost sales and exports, while the Cuban government estimated that the embargo cost the island US$685m annually.