LOS ANGELES, CA Sept. 19, 2008 - At the end of a three week "cooling off" period brokered by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, airline service workers at LAX delivered "road blocks" to Northwest, Alaska and Continental airlines to protest the one contractor who is standing in the way of progress towards better passenger service, airport safety, and quality jobs at the airport.

Aviation Safeguards, which provides services to Northwest, Alaska, Continental, Southwest, and airlines in the international terminal, is standing in the way of vital changes that would improve airport safety, passenger service, and the quality of jobs.  The company has refused to support even modest improvements in training, equipment provision, pay and benefits for workers who provide services "from the curb to the cabin" at one of the largest and most heavily-traveled airports in the world.

Workers are calling on Northwest, Alaska and Continental Airlines to hold their contractor to the same standards for service and security that other contractors and airlines are meeting.

"The airlines can do a lot more to improve services for their airline passengers and airport security, while at the same time making these good jobs for our families and our communities," says Fanny Fuentes, who provides wheelchair assistance to passengers with disabilities and seniors at Southwest Airlines.  Fuentes, like most airport service workers, earns only $10 an hour and does not have adequate individual or family healthcare.

Tentative Agreements with Other Employers
Workers have reached tentative agreements with three of the other contractors at the airport.  These agreements include improved standards for training, staffing and equipment as well as salary increases on top of the city living wage standard.  Staffing agreements ensure that wheelchair attendants will only push one wheelchair at a time and equipment agreements ensure clean and sufficient equipment to perform the work required.

Historic strike at LAX
On August 28, hundreds of workers at LAX walked off the job to defend their civil rights and protest their employers' refusal to improve services that directly affect passenger safety and airline security.  The workers returned to work the next day after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa brokered a three-week "cooling-off period" and called for "the workers and contractors, with the support of the airlines, to come to a fair agreement that ensures quality services and keeps passengers moving safely and efficiently at the international gateway to Southern California."

With their historic strike, workers at LAX showed that they are ready and willing to stand up for better jobs and improved passenger service and safety.  The lack of action by Northwest, Continental and Alaska Airlines to uphold higher standards for safety and service could lead to further labor disruptions at the airport.

"No one wants to have to strike, but we will fight for better safety, better service and better jobs," says Jesus Govea, a wheelchair assistance worker with Aviation Safeguards.  "We're proud to take care of the passengers who need it most - but we also need to be able to take care of our families.  Good jobs and good service for passengers go hand in hand."

More than 2,500 airport workers at LAX who provide services for major airlines including United, American, and Southwest Airlines are paid an average of only $10.50/hour or $19,000 per year - far short of the $54,000 per year the Economic Policy Institute reports it would take to support a family of four in California.  In addition, a recent survey by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) found fully three-quarters of wheelchair attendants reported problems with broken or malfunctioning wheelchairs and another third reported witnessing a passenger being endangered due to equipment problems or inadequate staff training.