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Tim Nelson
Minneapolis

Higher minimum wage for airport workers could get a vote next month

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Demonstrators at MSP airport
A crowd of demonstrators calling for a $15 an hour minimum wage briefly stopped traffic at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Friday, Dec. 5, 2014.
Tim Nelson | MPR News 2014

The Metropolitan Airports Commission Monday set a mid-May date to discuss and possibly vote on whether to increase the minimum wage for workers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

Gov. Mark Dayton said last month he would seek a $10 an hour minimum for airport workers. A Minnesota law enacted in 2014 calls for the statewide minimum wage to increase from $8 to $9.50 per hour by 2016.

Supporters of a $15 minimum wage say that airlines have been outsourcing work to employers who pay less, and that airport workers need protection from the changes in the business. The advocates, including labor unions, say the airport is an important employment center, particularly for East African immigrants, who suffer from high rates of poverty, and that the higher wage could help alleviate poverty in the long term.

But the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce said Monday that the added costs could force some of the air service that business needs away from Minnesota.

Airlines for America, which represents airlines such as Delta and United, as well as cargo carriers that use MSP, said a single industry, in this case airlines, should not be singled out with a higher wage ordinance. Spokesman Rob DeLucia told the commission his trade association thinks "there are serious legal questions as to your authority to proceed in this area."

MAC staff conceded they don't have a clear picture of airport workers' wages overall. But they're meeting with students at Hamline University Tuesday to explore a study of what various workers earn.

Commission staff say approximately 2,800 contract employees who clean planes, push wheelchairs and drive carts make much less than the $31.86 median hourly wage of all 17,200 jobs at the airport.

MAC Chairman Dan Boivin says one possibility might be to focus on those 2,800 employees, and not include those who work at concessions, in a minimum wage increase.

"I don't know what everybody else on the board feels, but I tell you it does bother me when there are workers at the airport who have to go to a food shelf. It's just not OK," Boivin said, adding that after some bad years, the airlines are making money.

Last December, the MAC approved a paid leave policy that allows workers to earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours of work to a maximum of 72 hours.

The 15-member commission scheduled a special meeting to discuss wage options from airport managers on May 18. Even if commissioners approve an increase, it may take months for workers to see changes in pay.