The ‘Fight for $15’ persists in Massachusetts and beyond

Labor activists rally in the State House for a $15 wage as part of a national day of action. The activists plan to press the Legislature to raise the state’s minimum wage. (Photo: Karen Morales)

Massachusetts fast food, airport, Uber and other minimum-wage workers went on strike last week as part of a nationwide campaign for $15 wages and union rights.

Workers in 340 different cities across the country walked off their jobs on Nov. 29, a national day of disruption, to highlight the vital role they play in helping big companies function day to day.

Protests began at 6:00 a.m. outside the McDonald’s in Cambridge’s Central Square, where 36 out of around 300 demonstrators were arrested for civil disobedience, according to Cambridge WickedLocal coverage.

“I’m a mother of two and I work two jobs, yet even when I piece together my checks week to week, it’s still not enough to move my family out of the shelter,” said Barbara Fisher, a Dunkin’ Donuts worker who makes $10 an hour and was among those arrested in Cambridge.

At noon on the same day, dozens of demonstrators gathered at East Boston’s Memorial Park in solidarity with non-union airport passenger service workers employed by Flight Services and Systems Inc., a JetBlue contractor, who also went on strike. They were protesting unfair labor practices at Logan International Airport, citing threats, intimidation and retaliation when they tried to join forces for higher pay and union rights.

“No worker should be subjected to coercion and intimidation,” said Roxana Rivera, Vice President of 32BJ, the northeast chapter of Service Employees International Union. “No matter where you work, at an airport or a fast-food joint, workers’ rights should be respected.”

More than survival

Flight Services and Systems has been embroiled in multiple lawsuits in the past that allege wage theft and retaliation.

In 2013, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office ordered FSS to pay $4,129 in back wages to wheelchair attendants for failure to pay the minimum wage, having instead required the employees to falsify tips.

In 2014, a skycap for JetBlue at Logan Airport in Boston was awarded nearly $1 million for a retaliatory firing that took place after supervisors pressured him to drop an earlier lawsuit against FSS and JetBlue concerning tipping practices.

“We do it to survive, but our fight for $15 is about more than just survival,” said Lazaro Monterrey, who works as a wheelchair assistant at Logan International Airport. “It’s about dignity for all workers.”

Due to airport deregulation in the 1970s, major airline companies merged and lack of competition allowed for reduced wages and other cost-cutting practices. Employees like baggage handlers, cabin cleaners, and skycaps formerly worked directly for airline companies, making a living wage with pensions, healthcare and the right to form a union. Today, most airport workers are nonunion and are employed by subcontractors that pay low wages without any benefits.

On Jan. 1, 2017, Massachusetts’ state minimum wage will rise from $10 to $11, the last of three increases required by 2014 legislation.

According to data from National Low Income Housing Coalition, a person working full time at a $10 minimum wage would have to work 83 hours a week to afford a modest 1-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Massachusetts.

The waves of demonstrations came to a head at the State House at 2:00 p.m., when members of the Fight for $15 movement, community organizations, religious groups and labor unions gathered to urge legislators to make a change.