CHICAGO — Working your way through O'Hare International Airport might be a bit more difficult on Thursday, when workers at the airport will walk off the job for a one-day strike.
O'Hare employees, from custodians to security workers and many in between, will stage a demonstration at 8 a.m. Thursday to rally for higher wages and to fight against what they are calling unfair labor practices, said Izabela Miltko, spokeswoman for Service Employees International Union Local 1.
The employees are not represented by the union, but the union has been helping the workers rally for better wages since September, when security employees briefly walked off the job to protest their low wages, Miltko said.
Security employees have now been joined by airport custodians, baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants, plane de-icers and many other service employees who say wages are too low. Miltko said some employees can earn as little as $6 an hour, and the majority of the employees don't make more than $12 an hour.
"All of these people make poverty-level wages," Miltko said.
The employees want a better minimum wage and a right to unionize, Miltko said. When those ideas were brought to management, they were rebuked and were intimidated in to not taking further action, she said.
"When they came to their employers with these serious concerns ... they were turned away and written up," she said.
Despite the planned walk-out, service O'Hare will not be interrupted and customers should expect their travel arrangements to continue as normal, the city said.
"The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) does not anticipate any impact to airport operations because of the proposed job action," Owen Kilmer, Department of Aviation spokesman, said in a statement. "We will continue to ensure that Chicago’s airports are safe and secure for our passengers and employees, while working to enhance the customer experience."
Most of the employees are contracted through the airlines that service O'Hare, and so do not work with the city for their wages and contracts, Miltko said.
Striking wasn't their first option, Miltko said. Employees have been demonstrating since September, including a January protest outside United Airlines downtown headquarters.
The Thursday strike and rally will trump all previous efforts, Miltko said.
"This will be the largest action at the airport to date," she said.
Since these employees work around the clock on different shifts, some workers will begin walking off the job at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Milkto said. But most will be striking during the day on Thursday, she said.
The rally will be held outside of terminal 2 and 3, where cabs and other drivers can pick up passengers.
Milkto said the workers' action could cause service disruptions at the airport, even if that is not the employees' intentions. She said the inconvenience is necessary to give the workers a living wage.
"There will be slow downs [at the airport], for sure," she said.
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