Healthy Terminals
Act (HTA) for workers
$4.54to be added to hourly wage
Senator Alessandra Biaggi’s
and Assembly Member
Alicia Hyndman’s legislation
Healthy Termonals Act
(S6266D) adds certain airport
workers to the New York State
Building Service Prevailing
Wage Law. The bill will allow
over 12,000 airport workers,
including those who work
for subcontractors, at JFK
and LaGuardia Airports, access
to a supplemental wage
benefi t to acquire healthcare.
The act will require employers
at New York airports to
compensate workers, including
sub-contracted passenger
services, workers, cabin and
terminal cleaners, baggage
handlers, security offi cers,
and wheelchair attendants
with at least a $4.54 benefi ts
supplement that will be used
to acquire quality health insurance.
Employers at the
two New York City airports
will pay $4.54 separately to
a healthcare fund managed
by a local union or a selected
health insurance provider.
If an worker is current insured
but not receiving coverage
equal to the mandated
Department of labor $4.54,
the employer has the choice
of bringing adding the difference
to bring the total to $4.54,
a Department of labor standard,
or starting from scratch
with an insurance provider to
meet that number.
Currently union contracts
are expiring in April when details
will be worked out with
employers as to how this will
all be managed. It will be incumbent
for the employer to
supply and maintain records
of employees wages and logistically
how to fund the supplement.
The funding begins in
July -September with about
6,000 workers who have
worked at least 30 hours per
week during the pandemic.
.An additional 6,000 workers
will begin benefi ts in 2023.
There is some overlap of increases
in airport minimum
wages which are $16.20/hr.
going up to $17 in September
2021, to $18 in 2022 and to
$19 in 2023.
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These double increases
have many airport companies
worried.
The owner of one security
company said this is a great
benefi t to the worker but it
puts additional strain on the
companies that will be required
to pay it. According to
one company at JFK, this is
another increase to their expenses,
especially since the
downturn in the economy.
He said that every time this
is an increase in minimum
wage or benefi ts such as this
to contractors, there is pushback
from the companies in
which the contractors provide
services. As in the case of the
minimum wage at the airports,
he said that they have
not been able to successfully
bill back those who contract
his services and “ we have to
eat some of it.” In addition,
many international carriers
do don’t understand the complexities
of our compensation
system and fl atly refuse
to accept a portion of the increases.
This person says that
this benefi t could impede new
airlines from coming to JFK
given the increased costs that
have been put in place over
the past couple of years.
A spokesperson for 32 BJ
SEIU said it was hopeful by
the beginning of the benefi t
in September, airlines and
companies would be better
along to bear this increase
But she said that the lack
of coverage has been a serious
problem for many workers
and detrimental to their
health. She said that the increase
benefi t of heal insurance
would go a long way to
people staying on their jobs,
provide continuity and create
a better work attitude.
She noted that with the
CARES money in place that
this additional benefi t would
not be a hardship for companies.
On the other hand, one
company said that not all
companies have received nor
eligible for CARES money.