SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – Nearly 30 security screeners shouted, “At SFO we are union strong; Unequal pay is fucking wrong,” and received automotive horns as they protested for higher wages outside the Harvey Milk Terminal on Thursday.
Approximately 1,000 security controllers employed by Covenant Aviation Security and dealing at SFO are represented by the Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West. The protest was largely driven by worker retention and wage inequality, which staff say doesn’t sustain with the price of living in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
“I just hope they give us equal pay and make sure they treat us like human beings and not just another person that they can replace at any time,” said security controller Karina Rodriguez. “We want to be heard, we want to be seen, we want to make sure we’re here for the long haul, not just a few months.”
A 2022 law requires contractors to compensate their employees at levels comparable to TSA's directly employed staff to make sure overall pay equity.
Sanjay Garla, first vp of the union, said the law is meant to enhance retention by rewarding seniority with higher pay. But at SFO, Garla said TSA would give older and recent employees the identical amount of cash after which pay them the identical increased amount every time TSA renewed its contract with Covenant.
Garla said employees are owed no less than $12 million in back pay, but he said that figure is an estimate because he doesn't know the way the TSA calculates their wages and advantages.
Storage is a relentless problem. The job as a security inspector generally is a “really stressful job,” Garla said, and other people have moved on to jobs with higher pay and fewer stress. In turn, as airports have hired more people to fill vacancies, senior managers must spend more time training recent employees, and this lack of experience can result in dangerous items slipping past screening machines.
Joe Grandov, a security auditor at SFO, has worked for Covenant for nearly 12 years. He said contractor pay was higher than TSA worker pay, but contract staff didn’t receive other advantages comparable to retirement or pension. But when TSA employees' salaries became higher than contractors', it became harder to make ends meet, he said.
Grandov spoke about how working as a security inspector had grow to be “less and less attractive,” attributing this to lower pay and poor treatment from customers.
“We are dealing with people who are in a very unpleasant situation. People don’t like security, they don’t like being stopped,” Grandov said. “We're getting spit on by people, we're getting the stink eye from people, we're getting verbal abuse from people because they're late to make their planes and we're just trying to make sure they're safe.”
As the protest continued, the variety of employees in attendance fluctuated as staff joined the picket line once they took a break and left the picket line once they needed to return to work.
“SFO’s contract security officers are considered essential workers. Operations will continue without interruption,” TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said in an email to the Bay Area News Group.
San Francisco District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan appeared on the airport to indicate her support for the union. During her tenure, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed mandates setting health care expectations and a minimum wage for all San Francisco employees. She said she and the board would support the union's efforts and, if obligatory, make a request to the TSA and the federal government to honor the contract.
“San Francisco Bay Area is a really expensive area,” Chan said. “[As the cost of living continues to increase]all workers should earn a job. One job should be enough.”
Because of unequal pay, some staff say it's difficult to afford the things they need. Grandov said he and his brother take turns caring for his or her mother, who suffers from dementia, but although he’s working more hours than ever before, he said he remains to be not being compensated for on a regular basis he has worked .
“I'm 70. I should think about retirement, not think about where I can still earn a cent,” Grandov said.
In addition to her full-time job as a security inspector at SFO, Rodriguez said she also works part-time for 2 different home care firms to support herself and her clan, all of whom live together in a house in Burlingame. She said she was newly engaged and worked 10-hour shifts to afford the things she wanted for her wedding.
SFO is considered one of 21 airports within the U.S. that outsources its security screening to personal contractors through the Transportation Security Administration's Screening Partnership program.
SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said in an email that the airport granted the union a free speech permit to “provide a platform … to convey its message to the public” and “designate locations for this activity to ensure “That passengers can continue to move freely and reach the airport unhindered.”
Covenant officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hillary Ritter, a 36-year-old former San Francisco resident waiting for a ride from the airport on Thursday, filmed the protest in support of the cause with her phone.
“I’m proud of what they’re doing,” Ritter said. “I’m glad they’re standing up for themselves. They should be paid immediately.”
Originally published:
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