TRENTON – Senator M. Teresa Ruiz and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg today applauded action by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for airport workers, including those at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The board of commissioners voted yesterday in support of a plan to increase the minimum wage for workers at port authority-operated airports, following a push by New York officials to increase wages for workers on that side of the river. The Senators sponsored a resolution (SR-58), approved last month by the Senate, urging the Port Authority to request and support a minimum wage increase for Newark Airport workers as well, after Port Authority officials from New Jersey resisted the effort.
“This was always about ensuring fairness in pay and treatment for our workers,” said Senator Ruiz (D-Essex). “Newark airport employees deserve an opportunity to make a decent living and to support their families, just as workers on the other side of the river. I am pleased that action has finally been taken to increase their wages and to ensure their compensation does not fall behind those who are doing the same jobs at airports in neighboring New York.”
“New Jersey workers deserve the same quality wages and working standards as their New York counterparts. I am glad the Port Authority heard the Legislature’s concerns and took action to increase wages for airport workers and to ensure parity in compensation,” said Senator Weinberg (D-Bergen). “This action, although delayed, is the right thing to do for our employees and for our state.”
The Port Authority policy requires vendors and contractors to increase the minimum wage for airport workers by $1 an hour as soon as practicable and to $10.10 an hour by next year.