4 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 29, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Airport workers rally at JFK for fair health benefi ts
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Hundreds of airport workers
rallied at JFK Airport calling
for racial and economic justice
Wednesday, April 21.
Th e workers’ key demand is the
proper implementation of the
newly passed Healthy Terminals
Act, which is meant to equip
airport workers with substantial
health benefi ts. Workers also
protested the potential loss of a
paid holiday for Martin Luther
King Jr. Day, which has significant
meaning for the workers
in their years long struggle for
respect and justice.
“I risked myself, my family to
do my job throughout the pandemic,”
LaGuardia Airport terminal
cleaner Cristina Mendez
told the crowd. “And these
employers are penny-pinching
over our safety and healthcare.”
Mendez is among the 10,000
subcontracted workers across
JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports
that are currently bargaining
for a new contract, having
met with the employers for the
fi rst virtual bargaining session
last month. Th e essential workers,
among the largest groups
of contracted airport workers to
start bargaining since the onset
of the COVID-19 pandemic,
said they are growing increasingly
frustrated by the lack of
progress being made at the bargaining
table. Th e timing of their
JFK rally — just a day aft er the
conviction of Derek Chauvin for
the murder of George Floyd —
did not go unnoticed by their
union leader.
“Yesterday, justice was served
and our country took a major
step in the right direction,” SEIU
32BJ President Kyle Bragg said.
“However, we know that in order
to achieve true racial justice, we
must continue to fi ght for economic
justice, healthcare justice
and dignity and respect Black
and Brown workers deserve. It’s
unconscionable to think that
these contractors are trying
to get in the way of Black and
Brown frontline workers receiving
healthcare.”
Th e Healthy Terminals Act
requires employers to pay a benefi
t supplement meant to provide
sustainable and meaningful
health benefi ts to thousands
of essential airport workers,
was recently passed. Th e airport
workers fought and won
the healthcare legislation in the
middle of the pandemic, while
the airline industry received up
to $65 billion in federal bailout
money under the CARES Act.
“I proudly voted to pass the
Healthy Terminals Act in the
Assembly because thousands of
airport workers in need of necessary
healthcare are the backbone
of our airports and our states,”
Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz
said. “We will not sit here and
watch employers try to cut corners
and withhold healthcare.”
Aft er a year defi ned by the
pandemic and America’s racial
reckoning, airport workers consider
employers’ demands for
givebacks a major step backwards
in their fi ght for justice
and equity.
“Airport workers risked
their lives to keep our airports
safe and our economy strong
as the COVID-19 pandemic
raged through our communities,”
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards said.
“Protecting workers means protecting
passengers and instilling
confi dence in travel, and we can
only do so with proper, meaningful
healthcare. We need to build
upon the Healthy Terminals Act
which is so important to our
workers, their families, our communities
and millions of passengers
who use our airports. I
call on all the employers to take
action and give airport workers a
fair contract and healthcare they
deserve, and I thank 32BJ SEIU
for their continued advocacy and
leadership.”
Airport workers include passenger
service representatives,
cabin and terminal cleaners,
baggage handlers, security offi -
cers, wheelchair attendants and
skycaps. Th eir current contract
expired on April 1 and they are
expected to head back to the bargaining
table soon.
“I stand with my brothers
and sisters, the frontline workers
who have kept our airports
safe and our economy running
through the coronavirus pandemic,”
Councilman Francisco
Moya said. “A strong contract
that includes quality, aff ordable
healthcare will be crucial for airport
workers and their families.
It will also give Black, Latino
and immigrant workers, who
have been disproportionately
impacted by COVID, an equitable
opportunity to protect themselves
from this and other diseases.”
Queens is fi rst NY county with 1M vaccinated
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A year aft er Queens became the city’s
epicenter of COVID-19, the borough has
reached 1 million residents vaccinated,
making it the fi rst county in the state to
reach the milestone.
Borough President Donovan Richards
announced the achievement on Friday,
April 23, based on data from the State
Department of Health showing that 1 million
residents in the “World’s Borough”
have received at least one dose of a
COVID-19 vaccine.
“One year ago today, Queens was the
epicenter of the epicenter of the world’s
worst public health crisis in more than a
century. To go from those dark days to
this aft ernoon, as Queens becomes the
fi rst county in the state to have 1 million
residents receive at least one dose of
a COVID-19 vaccine, is a testament to the
unrivaled strength and resilience of our
borough,” Richards said.
Queens has seen many “fi rsts” concerning
COVID-19. Back in March 2020, Far
Rockaway confi rmed the fi rst COVID-
19 case in Queens and the borough saw
exponential growth in cases over the next
few months.
Less than a year later in December 2020,
Queens nurse Sandra Lindsey, was the
fi rst in New York to receive a COVID-19
vaccine outside of trials.
In his announcement, Richards thanked
healthcare workers for their tireless and
brave work in the midst of a global
pandemic.
“To all our healthcare heroes and frontline
essential workers who selfl essly
served Queens in our time of need, we
are eternally in your debt,” he said. “To
all those who lost a loved one to this pandemic,
our hearts are always with you. To
the 1 million Queens residents who have
received a vaccine, thank you for doing
your part to keep our
communities safe.”
On the same day,
Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced that
all city-run Pfi zer
and Moderna sites
are open to walkins
for New Yorkers
ages 16 and up and
18 and up, respectively.
Th e mayor
also said that geographic
restrictions
have ended at all cityrun
sites.
“It’s never been easier to
get vaccinated. With each
resident who gets their shots,
we get one step closer to
building our borough
back better than
ever,” Richards
said.
Courtesy of Richards’ offi ce
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards shows off
his COVID-19 Vaccination
Record Card.
Courtesy of 32BJ
Airport workers rally at JFK for a fair contract and health care under the Healthy Terminals Act.
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