What $19 an hour would mean to me

When I first started working as a wheelchair assistant at LaGuardia Airport seven years ago, I was 20 years old and was paid just $7.25 an hour. I had hopes for a better life, but I was young, restless and broke. I was, as I am now, my family’s breadwinner, and putting food on the table for me, my mom and my brother was a struggle.

To make ends meet, while making poverty wages with few benefits, if any, I had to work for more than 80 hours a week. It was exhausting. And even with that many hours, it still wasn’t enough to live with dignity. So I joined a union — 32BJ. And we started pushing for fairness and dignity at the airport.

We marched and we went on strike, multiple times. Some of my coworkers even engaged in civil disobedience and got arrested alongside our allies and elected officials who supported our cause. It wasn’t easy, but we talked to anyone who would listen, and pressured the Port Authority, which runs the airports, to change its rules.

Finally, on a beautiful day in early spring this year, we won — and I cried. It was progress when we won our first raise in 2014 to $9 an hour; it was exciting when we won $10.10 with the help of our public allies; and it was incredible when we won a path to $15 for the entire State of New York.

But this time I broke down because when the Port Authority announced last month that it intends to create a wage policy for airport workers that will put me and 40,000 other subcontracted airport workers at $19 an hour by 2023, the Port recognized that dignity at work should come first.

I found myself jumping up and down and hugging my co-workers, with tears rolling down our faces. I will never forget the excitement and jubilation that day.

This could mean an entirely new life for me, for my family and for so many families in my community and in our city who rely on someone who works at JFK, LaGuardia or Newark airports.

It could also substantially change travel for millions of passengers across the region.

After seven years working at the airport, I have become an expert at my job and gained full knowledge on how to handle challenging situations at work. It really does take several years to be comfortable with passengers and know exactly what needs to be done to carry out the job most efficiently.

As a wheelchair attendant who is with passengers most of the day, I have found it meaningful to help so many people — from the elderly, to people who are sick, to people with disabilities.

It may sound like a simple job to you, but it’s not. With my expertise, I have learned to safely board passengers on the aircraft in a timely and orderly manner so they can enjoy their travels. I even feel comfortable assisting with emergencies now, like the time when I helped a blind passenger who fell and was injured, or the time I helped another passenger who got seriously ill while at the boarding gate.

I’m proud of what I do at the airport, but my family has been struggling to survive in New York City. I have had to schedule sleeping times with my mother and younger brother so we can all use the tiny one-bedroom apartment that we can only afford to share. I dream of renting an apartment that would allow us to live together comfortably.

With low pay and no employer-paid health insurance — and only a few hard-won paid holidays — it has also been difficult to maintain my medication for my health condition. Since I was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2013, it has been crucial for me to get monthly health checkups. A New York State-sponsored health insurance program has saved my life.

My story is so similar to that of so many other airport workers. With low pay, few of my colleagues stay on the job for very long. They would rather work in a fast-food restaurant or retail store near where they live.

Nineteen dollars an hour will change all this. It would make airport jobs good jobs that experienced workers can commit to. Workers will even work harder and be more dedicated because they will know that what they do is being recognized and respected.

The higher wage would also allow people like me to work one job and still be able to live in our city. It would infuse our communities with economic resources that reflect our hard work.

As the Port Authority opens the public comment period for this wage increase, I am urging everyone in our New York community to see the good this pay raise will do for working families and passengers alike.