Democrat Rep. Charles Rangel, who recently snagged an endorsement from the Teamsters Union (shocking, right), donned his best hoodie to hang out with the SEIU protesters at JFK this morning. According to the New York Observer, Rangel and several other politicians, were arrested back in January for the same “act of intentional civil disobedience:”
Police arrested New York Congressman Charles Rangel and 29 others, including City Councilmen Ritchie Torres and Antonio Reynoso, at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day-themed labor protest at LaGuardia Airport this afternoon.
The representatives had joined airport workers from the building workers’ union SEIU 32BJ as they gathered outside the airport to demand greater protections, including increased wages, health benefits, paid sick days, and the right to a paid holiday on Martin Luther King Day. In an act of intentional civil disobedience, the protesters staged a sit-in across the 94th Street bridge to LaGuardia, blocking traffic to and from the airport.
“No one should be one paycheck away from homelessness,” Mr. Rangel declared before the march to the bridge. ”We have a new mayor now, Bill de Blasio, and I am certain that he will be spearheading our fight for better wages.”
Mr. Rangel, who faces a tough re-election battle later this year, was also arrested a few months ago at an immigrants’ rights protest in Washington.
The protesters – many of whom I was told could not speak English and needed an interpreter – were demanding an increase in hourly wages. My guess is that the majority of the “protesters” are being paid to attend. A shady move that the SEIU has utilized in the past.
While both American Airlines and Delta have already agreed to increase hourly pay, Hector Figueroa, President of SEIU 32BJ, said it’s still not enough. Of course it’s not. Did you really think it ever would be?
American has become the second major carrier to agree to boost the wages of low-paid contract workers at the city’s two airports, The News has learned.
Gov. Cuomo on Friday will announce that the airline will order an immediate $1-an-hour raise for contract workers who now earn $9 an hour or less.
The workers also will receive a second raise to $10.10 an hour by early next year and time-and-a-half if they worked this past Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In addition, future MLK days will be treated as a paid holiday.
The directive will affect more than 1,000 porters, luggage haulers and other employees who work for companies under contract with American.
Delta Air Lines already had agreed to raise the pay of its more than 2,000 contract workers at the two airports.