Logan Airport service workers rallied outside of the Massachusetts Port Authority Headquarters in East Boston on Thursday in an effort to demand quality, employer-paid health care and improved standards.
The roughly 2,200 employees — who handle wheelchair assistance, baggage handling and more — don’t work for Massport itself. They work for companies hired by the airlines to service their passengers. But the workers want Massport, which oversees Logan, to set an airport-wide standard to make these contractors offer employer-paid health care.
Employees gave public testimony during Thursday’s Massport board meeting about the “health care crisis.”
Juan Baez, who cleans aircraft cabins at Logan Airport, said he receives insurance through his employer. But high costs have caused him to delay necessary medical procedures, including a biopsy that would cost him another $4,000.
“I know I am taking a risk by skipping the biopsy, but I also know there is no way I could ever pay off such a huge debt,” Baez testified to the board. “I urge you to adopt a standard that ensures all airport workers feel protected — just as we strive to ensure that passengers feel safe when they take their seats.”
The airport workers, who are represented by 32BJ SEIU, have been pressuring Massport to act on health care since January, according to a press release.
A recent report from the union and the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center finds that 30% of surveyed unionized airport employees are uninsured.
Massport told GBH News that the workers do not work for them and that they should go to their employers directly with benefits concerns.
Driss Jbilou, who helps those in wheelchair navigate the airport, said he’s worked at the airport for eight years and has spent most of that time without health insurance.
He was hospitalized for a week after experiencing a heart attack last month, and said he now pays $359 a month for insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector. According to Jbilou, that’s roughly two-thirds of one week’s pay on top of medical bills.
“I know that I have health problems, but I did not know how to fix these problems when I could not afford to go to the doctor. I am alive, but how can I afford to live?” said Jbilou. “I am proof that many of us are risking our lives for these jobs. Please, ladies and gentlemen of the Massport Board, vote for a policy for health insurance for all workers at Logan Airport.”
Yanira Hernandez, who cleans aircraft cabins, testified while recovering from shoulder surgery.
She said insurance delays have extended her medical leave beyond the five months permitted by her employer, leaving her without pay while she also pays for health insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector.
“Right now, I am unable to work and am afraid I won’t be able to pay the bills that keep piling up,” said Hernandez. “We are asking you once again to adopt a policy covering the entire airport, so that no one else has to suffer the anxiety and uncertainty that my family and I are going through.”
The union and airport workers also delivered more than 600 postcards to the Massport board, calling on them to establish standards that ensure access to employer-paid health care, fair wage increases and paid time off.
“These workers keep Logan Airport running every day, but too many are being forced to choose between getting the medical care they need and paying their bills,” 32BJ SEIU Executive Vice President Kevin Brown said in a statement. “No worker should have to delay essential medical care because they can’t afford it or wait until they’re experiencing a medical emergency because going to the doctor costs too much.”
