May Day: Toronto airport workers united

On May 1, International Workers Day, unorganized workers from the Fight for 15 and Fairness campaign joined workers from the Airport Workers Council, members of CUPE, new OFL president Chris Buckley and others for a May Day celebration at the Departures ramp at Terminal 1 at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. Workers, on duty and off, took some time out to enjoy treats from Ice Cream and Churro trucks parked outside the entrances and spread the word to fellow workers and departing travellers that they want $15 wages for everyone at the airport (and around the province) and an end to contract flipping at the airport. Traffic was snarled as workers danced, chanted and spread the word.

Below is the May Day statement from the Airport Workers Council:

We are workers united.

Whether we work on the ground or in the sky, we all face the same agenda that attacks our wages and working conditions. No community can survive when the drive for profits is more important than the needs of its people.

We no longer quietly accept their race to the bottom.

We demand:

-All airport labour is pad at least $15 an hour
-All airport workers receive at least 7 paid sick days
-Equal pay for equal work
-Guaranteed hours of work
-No more contract flipping!

We are workers united. Together we can change our community.