Charlotte airport workers demand safety ordinance

PAUL WILLIAMS III | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Lashonda Barber, a contract worker at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, talks during a press conference at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. Barber and her colleagues are lobbying Charlotte City Council to pass an ordinance that would improve workplace safety rules and provide benefits for airport workers.

Lawrence McKenzie is 82 years old.

His Social Security check isn’t enough to make ends meet, so three days a week, he pushes passengers in wheelchairs to their destinations at the world’s sixth-busiest airport.

McKenzie makes $12.50 an hour, plus an occasional tip, working for Prospect Airport Services at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. On a recent day, he earned $40.

Charlotte Douglas is the second-largest operational hub of American Airlines, which subcontracts with companies like Prospect for passenger support services. Last year, the airline raked in $54 billion in revenue.

Other workers, like Dominique Chambers, or Lashanda Barber, transport and dispose of trash from planes, clean cabins, and escort unaccompanied minors through the airport. All are making $12 an hour.

At a Tuesday rally, with support from the Service Employees International Union’s local 32BJ, Chambers and Barber spoke to media about coworkers who sleep in their cars, face homelessness, or try to support families with minimal pay.

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Contract workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport are lobbying Charlotte City Council to pass the Charlotte Acting for Safety and Efficiency Act, an ordinance that would codify workplace safety rules.

“For the past few years, we’ve been fighting for better wages, benefits, working conditions, access to cold drinking water and basic respect,” Barber said. The pay and conditions have led to high turnover, meaning a lack of experience that could contribute to safety and security concerns. “This would be a job people could see themselves doing until retirement, because this is a career job,” Barber said. In January, a ramp agent was killed after being crushed under a vehicle on the tarmac.

Charlotte City Council member Tiawana Brown, whose district includes the airport; state Rep. Terry Brown, and U.S. Rep. Alma Adams spoke in support of the workers’ role at the airport and North Carolina’s economy. All are collaborating to draft the Charlotte Airport Safety  and Efficiency Ordinance, which would mandate benefits like paid time off and sick leave, health insurance coverage, and a minimum wage in accordance with the local cost of living.

According to a recent study conducted by SEIU, 40% of Charlotte Douglas’ service workers are housing insecure.

Adams, who uses the airport twice a week to commute between Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, reported that in 2024, Charlotte Douglas contributed more than $40 billion to the state economy.

“The Charlotte-Douglas airport is a major economic and transportation center for the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, but it’s only possible because of the tireless and dedicated work of our employees, like the men and women who are here today,” she said.

Adams also pledged to protect federal funding for social benefits like Medicaid, rent subsidies and SNAP instead of tax cuts for the richest Americans.

“These are services that our airport workers rely on,” she said. “We’re not going to take this lying down. I’m going to fight like hell in committee to stop these cuts.”

SEIU is organizing to get a union contract with the airport although the service workers aren’t dues-paying members. However, the union has demonstrated at rallies, pickets and supported a strike for better work conditions and pay.

Lawrence McKenzie said he’s encouraged by the public attention and support for the workers’ demands.

“The last time there was a strike on the property, there were four or five people walking around in a circle,” he said. “That was assigned by the airport, who could strike and where you could strike.”

The workers and their supporters plan to attend the April 28 council meeting to urge a committee hearing for the CASE. Union organizer Jacob Plitman is optimistic city leaders will “make the right choice” and pass the ordinance. 

“There’s a unique opportunity for City Council to act,” he said, “and they should do it at their earliest convenience.”

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