Airport workers in Washington D.C. and Miami protested airline contractor Eulen America by driving a caravan, honking their horns, and banging on pots and pans to call for personal protective equipment and layoff protection.
"They don't value the job we do and the work we put in," says Leila Benitez, who worked for Eulen for almost eight years. "I think if you take care of your employees, everything will be fine. If you take care of me, I'll give you 100 percent of myself."
The protestors are also calling on Congress to adopt measures in the next coronavirus legislation to protect airport workers, security officers and other essential property service workers who are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. Rep. Donna Shalala led 92 Members of Congress in writing a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging them to include protections for property service workers in the next stimulus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, along with 354 other state and local lawmakers, sent a letter calling for similar measures to protect working people.
“Essential property services workers and those close to them are getting sick and dying just by showing up to work to keep us safe during this pandemic,” said Herring. “They are struggling without any additional pay for their essential work and Congress should do all it can to ensure essential workers who are exposed have full access to emergency relief like layoff protection, essential pay and personal protective equipment to avoid infection.”
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