FORT WORTH, Texas — The SEIU Airport Workers United union held a rally Sept. 19, marching past the American Airlines corporate headquarters here. Airport workers from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport were joined by 40 airport workers who came by bus from Houston. Some 200 people, a majority Latinos, joined the action. Many were cabin cleaners, wheelchair agents, janitors and other inside workers.
The workers are demanding better wages and benefits for contract workers at the airline.
The march was joined midway by 30 members of Communications Workers of America Local 6001 who work in airline reservations, scheduling and ticketing. All together they chanted, “From curb to cabin — we’re fired up and we won’t take it no more!”
The rally was held across from the Fort Worth regional air traffic control center. “I am a diabetic. Because of the wages I receive I am sometimes forced to choose between paying for the insulin I need and getting food,” Travan Watts, a cabin cleaner, told the crowd. Saleem, a worker born in Sudan, spoke in both English and Arabic. “I work as a wheelchair agent for $12 an hour. Many days I must work two shifts together in order to survive,” he said. “Our fight is for good jobs that allow us to live life with dignity and respect.”
Jeff Peterson, a member of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants at DFW International Airport, also addressed the rally. “Airport workers fight is a fight for all of labor,” he said. “Flight attendants have not had a pay increase since 2019.”