Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Workers at Reagan National Airport plan on marching through the airport on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then heading to King’s Memorial near the National Mall and surrounding roads.
Bag handler Trendan Bactus said he’s not afraid to get arrested. “It’s for a great cause. It’s for our rights.”
He and 50-100 other protestors plan on blocking traffic on Independence Avenue and risking arrest on Monday afternoon.
“We want the people to know that we come in contact with everyday that, hey, we’re struggling, and that’s why we’re out here fighting,” Bactus told WMAL. “They see us with these nice uniforms on, and they think we’re getting paid just like the airlines get paid. They don’t know that we’re not getting paid nothing.”
He said wheelchair pushers get paid minimum wage, and baggage handlers not much more. They would like $15 an hour. They’re also asking for benefits and the ability to unionize. The protest is part of a national effort on the holiday to call attention to workers still making minimum wage. Airport workers are expected to conduct similar protests in other cities including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago, and Seattle.
Bactus said he knows people will complain about blocked roads, the same people, he said, that rely on their work when they fly out of Reagan National. “Get out of your car, park your car, and help us to block these roads. DCA workers, we fight until we win. We don’t give up. We’re going to fight until we get our $15 (an hour) and a union. The best is yet to come.”
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