D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is urging the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority to ensure contracted workers at Reagan National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport reach $15 per hour by 2022. On December 18, MWAA board members will hold a vote to determine wages for over 6,000 contracted baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants, lobby agents, skycaps and cabin cleaners among others. “Fighting for a fair, living wage for Washingtonians has been one of my top priorities since taking office," said Bowser in a letter to MWAA. "On July 1, 2020, the minimum wage in Washington, DC will rise to $15 an hour, making our city more equitable for workers and putting more residents on a pathway to the middle class. As the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) meets this month to determine the timeline for higher wages for airport workers, I am hopeful the Board can similarly reach a consensus on raising the wage to $15 an hour by 2022 for all workers and begin to include this higher wage as a contract requirement for all concessionaires.” Sixteen Virginia Delegates also sent MWAA a letter recently on behalf of the workers, joining other high-profile supporters, including actor/activist Danny Glover, DNC Chairman and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, Virginia Congressmen Gerry Connolly and Don Beyer, D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
