San Francisco supervisors and a state senator were among 25 people arrested during a May Day protest at San Francisco International Airport on Friday as thousands of airline-contracted service workers rallied over wages and working conditions.
SEIU United Service Workers West Vice President Sanjay Garla confirmed to SFGATE that all 25 arrests were planned acts of civil disobedience. Among those arrested were supervisors Connie Chan and Rafael Mandelman, along with state Sen. Josh Becker and former supervisor and mayoral candidate Jane Kim. Supervisor Jackie Fielder attended but was not arrested.
“San Francisco is a union town. San Francisco Airport is the people’s airport,” Chan, who’s running to succeed Nancy Pelosi in Congress, said in a video from the protest. “We know our workers deserve fair pay, fair contract, healthcare and benefits. And we’re demanding that our workers to get that benefits and that fair pay right now.”
For an hour, protesters shut down the departures roadway at the international terminal in a demonstration centered on contract negotiations involving more than 2,000 airline-contracted workers across five employers, who have been bargaining for about a year. Garla said companies have yet to present a full economic proposal. The workforce represented in the protest spans a range of roles that keep airport operations running, including wheelchair attendants assisting elderly and disabled passengers, ticketing agents, cabin cleaners and baggage handlers.
“They were demanding $30 an hour for workers,” Garla said. “They were demanding to have full-time work, and they were also demanding to have an airport that’s safe for workers and the traveling public.”
The current airport living wage is $22.04, leaving what organizers described as roughly an $8 gap. Many SFO employees commute long distances or hold multiple jobs to cover living costs in the Bay Area, Garla said.
Garla added that many airport workers are also immigrants and raised concerns about enforcement actions affecting their ability to work after witnessing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that have targeted people at the airport.
“There were workers who lost status and workers whose security clearances were revoked simply because of the specific visa status that they held,” Garla said.
“The bulk of the workforce are immigrant workers,” he added. “We want to feel safe at our workplace, and we want the passengers to feel safe.”
The protest comes as the SF supervisors prepare to hold a hearing next week to question airlines and contractors about the stalled negotiations and explore potential city action.
“We’re not ruling out the need to create further disruption in order to have the demands met,” Garla said.
