Fort Lauderdale, FL —A large group of local clergy and community leaders will hold a press conference on Tuesday at 12:30, calling on Broward County Commissioners to pass a bill extending the County’s Living Wage ordinance to cover 1,200 passenger service workers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport who earn an average of $8.14 per hour, significantly below the federal poverty line. At the event, which will follow a hearing on the issue, airport workers will talk about their struggle to make ends meet and their expectation that commissioners defend them against airline industry lobbyists.

The group will present findings from a new report detailing how Miami International Airport benefits in a variety of ways by requiring airline contractors to pay a living wage, in sharp contrast to FLL, where many of the same contractors only pay poverty wages.

Baggage handlers, sky caps, wheelchair attendants, cabin cleaners, ramp workers, passenger assistance representatives, check-point screeners, fuelers, and security officers are excluded from the County’s living wage law which currently applies to many other airport workers.

With more than 145,000 members in 11 states, 32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country.

###