CHARLOTTE, N.C. — American Airlines is not happy with the Charlotte City Council after they delayed a vote to approve a 10-year lease on a new space at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
The area will be used for catering and cargo, but some of the council members cited the low wages of catering employees as the reason why they wanted more time.
Just last week, those workers voted to go on strike when the national mediation board gives approval.
An American Airlines representative told NBC Charlotte they're disappointed in the council's decision to push this vote off, saying in a statement, “while we were disappointed in Monday night’s action to defer, we look forward to meeting with Councilmembers on the matter in the weeks ahead.”
This lease doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the possible strike but some council members are concerned about the way those employees are treated.
“Too many workers at our airport don't get paid near a living wage,” Councilman Braxton Winston said at Monday night’s council meeting.
The lease is for a space that would be used by American Airlines for catering and cargo. It would raise the airline's rent, making the city more money. But a few council members are more concerned about what union members have told them, saying they can barely scrape by on what they're paid.
“Most of them make under $10. I met a lady who had to work two jobs, who is in her 50s, and can’t afford to live in our city,” Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera said on Monday.
Those union members have been making a lot of noise as they prepare to go on strike, but the airline has no say in their salaries. They work for the third party company LSG Sky Chefs. They serve multiple airlines, but union workers say primarily American Airlines.
“I’d be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to point this out and find a way to continue to engage American Airlines and bring them to the table to truly help us in partnership to bridge the equity gaps that plague our city and that they benefit from,” Winston said.
The airport director says they can't have a direct influence on how much private companies pay their employees.
The American Airlines representative says they're looking forward to talking to council members in the coming weeks.
Unite Here Local 23 representatives released the following statement:
“Local elected officials at airports across the country have taken action to change wages and working conditions. Charlotte should do the same. American Airlines profited billions and billions of dollars, but I still have to work more than one job just to make ends meet.”